Spartans shut down Hawks efforts

Tyler Lowey
Times Reporter

 

A pair of double-digit runs by the Strathmore High School Spartans girls’ basketball team elevated them to an easygoing 58-18 victory Dec. 6 over the Holy Cross Collegiate Hawks at the Strathmore High School gym.
The Hawks trailed 18-2 after the first quarter. Grade 11 guard Destiny Stevens scored the first regular-season basket in the first on a put-back layup.
The Spartans carried a 16-0 run into the second quarter and registered a 14-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarter.
“I’m not too sure what slowed us down tonight. We came out really flat in the first, but to our credit, the girls recognized we were flat and kept trying to make plays happen,” said Hawks head coach Brad Everett.
Hawks senior point guard Darcie Weir kept grinding despite the mounting deficit.
If her shot wasn’t falling, she cut around screens without the ball, and didn’t settle for jump shots by attacking the rim, heading to the charity stripe three times. Never giving up, she hit the floor for loose balls and walked away with six steals.
“She’s a very accomplished athlete. Sure, she had some shooting problems, but I’d be more worried if she shot 1-for-2 instead of 1-for-10. The shots will start to drop for her,” said Everett.
The Spartans senior guard Brianna Kennedy certainly didn’t have any problem with the rims. She was lights out in the first half, which included a stretch where she nailed four-of-five three pointers, finishing with 14 points, two rebounds and three steals.
Fellow senior Ffyona Gibson-Smith didn’t see her jumper drop as frequently as she would have liked, three baskets on 10 shots, but carved her way to the free throw line three times, draining four of six attempts. She was also tough on the glass, pulling down seven boards. Tatum Wathen shot efficiently, registering eight points on seven shots combined with a pair of blocks.
“These are tough games to be a part of. Neither team is able to really learn anything or work on anything when it plays out like it did. You get into bad habits and possibly get rewarded for things you shouldn’t,” said Spartans head coach Dion Galandy.
The shooting simply wasn’t there for the Hawks. The team combined to go 4 for 20 from the charity stripe and 8 for 35 from the floor.
“It’d be one thing if we were getting the type of shots we wanted, but we were, and they weren’t falling. We will continue to work and know that sooner or later, they will start to go down,” said Everett.
The Hawks were in action Dec. 12 when they hosted the Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School Spartans at Holy Cross and traveled to Holy Trinity Academy in Okotoks Dec. 14. They return home to face the Highwood High School Mustangs Dec. 19 (5:30 p.m.).
The Spartans are in action again Dec. 14 when they travel to Strathcona. They will host their tournament beginning Dec. 16 when they take on the Banff Community High School Bears at 5:30 p.m.