South Warren’s outstanding start to the 2017-18 basketball season continued on Friday evening, as it proved to be too much for District 14 opponent Greenwood and rolled to an 86-35 win.
The Spartans (7-0 overall, 2-0 District 14)) controlled the game from start to finish and used a big first half to take control early. They led by 20 points after the opening quarter and went on to add 27 points to their side of the scoreboard in the second period to hold a lopsided 54-15 advantage at halftime.
“I liked our starts, even in the second half when we were up pretty good and had a running clock already,” South Warren head coach Blane Embry said. “I just like the looks in these girls’ eyes. They just play so well together. It’s just rewarding as a head coach when you have players that are unselfish. It’s fun to watch. The girls look like they’re really enjoying it.”
Amaya Lasley and Natalie Pierce led the way for South Warren, as each scored 17 points. The duo was already in double digits at the break and, with the large lead, didn’t need to play much in the second half.
Riley Hartis carried Greenwood (3-4, 0-2) with 8 points.
South Warren jumped out to a 10-0 start to begin the game, as Jordan McDonald had seven of those points. The Spartans went on to take a 19-2 lead at the 3:59 mark of the first quarter after a basket by Lasley and were later up 27-7 after one.
The Spartans continued to dominate in the second, using a 13-0 run to push their advantage to 40-7 with six minutes left in the first half. A three by Sarah Dennison soon made it 52-13 before Olivia Steele’s score under the goal gave South Warren a 54-15 lead entering the locker room at halftime.
At the break, Lasley was already up to 14 points while Pierce had scored 13 and dished out several assists for a Spartans team that shot an impressive 71 percent over the course of the first two quarters.
“She has really matured,” Embry said of his point guard, Pierce. “She has really grown up just this year actually. She’s a total difference maker. She’s very difficult to defend.”
Already leading by a large margin, the Spartans were able to use their bench for most of the second half and cruised to another victory.
“We have some kids that are a little banged up – we just practice so hard every day that there’s no let up,” said Embry. “It was good to get some kids experience against a district team and have no let up.”
Senior writer Tyler Mansfield can be reached at mansfield.sportingtimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @_TylerMansfield.
