Spartans shred Mustangs

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

The Strathmore High School Spartans girls basketball team built a massive lead early and coasted to the finish with enough gas in the tank.
The Spartans smacked the Highwood High School Mustangs 54-33 in Foothills Athletic Council action Jan. 11 at the Strathmore High School gym.
In what was their first game in three weeks, the Spartans came out firing, leading the 2-2 Mustangs 20-8 after the first quarter that featured a pair of triples from Kaylin Larson and six points of Allie Davidson’s 18 points.
“We came out with a little rust. We didn’t play as well as we could have, but we played good enough to win, and that’s all that matters,” said Spartans head coach Dion Galandy.
“Our defence was good in the first half, but we kind of let go in the second half.”
Holding the Mustangs to one field goal in the second quarter, the Spartans (4-1) built a 40-16 lead by the end of the third.
In the fourth, the Mustangs began to chip away, albeit barely.
Scoring eight straight points inside the Spartans paint, the Mustangs were beginning to take advantage of the tired legs of the Spartans. The Mustangs more than doubled the production in the fourth, scoring 17 points.
“We just need to step it up and play like we can,” said Galandy when asked about what needed to change about the Spartans defence late.
The Spartans also led tape-to-tape and probably weren’t as sharp as they were at tip off.
Davidson remained sharp throughout, nearly completing a rare four-point play on a kick out pass from Larson.
“Allie was really focused tonight. She did a good job playing and defending, getting steals and getting back on defence,” said Galandy.
Ffyona Gibson-Smith finished with 10 points and Brianna Kennedy sunk a pair of threes to finish with eight points.
The Spartans travel to Holy Cross Collegiate to take on the 1-4 Hawks Jan. 18. The Spartans grounded the Hawks 60-20 when the two met in the season opener Dec. 6. Tip off is slated for 5:30 p.m.