A close first half led to a not-so-close finish Monday night when the Crest Lady Lancers hosted St. Paul in a 52-30 loss.
The Lady Lancers move to 1-5 overall while the Indians improve to 5-1.
The Lady Lancers trailed 13-8 after the first quarter but fought back to tie it up at 16 with 4:25 to play in the half. But as soon as it was tied, a 5-0 St. Paul run gave the Indians a lead they would not lose again.
Crest trailed 23-19 at the half and an 11-2 run to start the third quarter really put the game out of reach as turnovers hurt the Lady Lancers throughout the meat of the game.
There were a lot of bad passes, head coach Megan Mason said. We werent seeing the open girl.
Senior Regan Godderz and her sister, Lindsey, a freshman, were the only two Lady Lancers to score in double figures with 13 and 10 respectively. In the second half, their scoring was limited to just six points total.
Once again, they took away Regan and when teams do that, we dont have another strong ballhandler and that hurt us, Mason said.
The St. Paul lead got beyond 20 at the 3:33 mark of the fourth quarter as part of another 11-2 run by the Indians to really put the game away.
Senior Jewel Armstrong and sophomore Aubrey Holloran each had three and senior Cassie Bowen had a point.
All game long, the Lady Lancers struggled to stop St. Pauls lone double-digit scorer, Katie Coomes. The 510 junior wreaked havoc in the paint and on the perimeter, ending the night with 15 points including two threes.
Trying to shut down (Coomes) was a struggle, Mason said. In the beginning, I told them to stay with her but also to be aware of fouls and I think because of that they werent as aggressive. By the time they made the switch, it was too late. They started to light it up from outside and thats when they really pulled away.
Three other Indians had eight points and another had seven.
While there were plenty of things for Mason to shake her head at Monday night, she did notice that her team is getting better offensively even if thats not translating into increased scoring yet and hopes that theyll only continue to improve as the season continues.
I think were seeing the court a lot better, Mason said. That started when we played Pleasanton and I think carried through into today. Were hitting our backdoors a lot better and were not just relying on the open three. Were looking for other people and other plays and thats a huge improvement.
The Lady Lancers have the next several weeks off for winter break before returning to the court on Jan. 4 when they travel to Marmaton Valley.
