By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
When a basketball team needs to improve its game, the first thing it does is – write an essay?
That’s what the Spokane Lady Owls did following last month’s Pink and White Lady Classic.
“We just went back after the Pink and White and had a great meeting the other night; it took us two hours,” Spokane coach Dale Patton said. “We wrote some essays, believe it or not. We didn’t even get a basketball out, and the girls dedicated themselves to doing some things a little bit better.
“And, that is exactly what we came out and showed tonight.”
It had been almost a month since the New Covenant Academy Lady Warriors had played a game, and the rust showed as Spokane jumped out to a 10-2 first-quarter lead, sparked by seven points from sophomore center Paige Tate, on its way to a 54-37 nonconference victory Thursday night.
The Lady Warriors last played Dec. 12 when they easily defeated Sparta 66-26, but served notice in the second quarter that they weren’t going to go quietly.
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“I felt like it was a well-oiled machine vs. raw, and I think the first quarter really showed that,” New Covenant coach David Anderlik said. “Obviously, you don’t want to walk out with a loss; Spokane has blasted us by 35-plus the last two years, and we proved to ourselves that we can play with them. We just have to correct some errors that I’m counting up to rust.”
New Covenant fought back in the second quarter as Jacey Lamb converted a four-point play, and a right-handed layup from Alicia Batten pulled the Lady Warriors to 18-15 with less than two minutes left in the half.
Sharp-shooting Casey Wallace hit her first field goal of the game with 1:15 to go for a 20-15 Spokane advantage, but Lamb hit two free throws and then found Susan Cha, who hit a 3-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 20 heading into halftime.
New Covenant held Wallace, who surpassed 1,500 for her career during the Lady Classic, to just four points in the first half.
“They face-guarded me a little bit, and I deal with this probably every game, so it’s nothing new,” Wallace said. “My team definitely stepped up in that first quarter.”
Patton said that Wallace has the bull’s-eye on her back every game. Her 3-pointer in the third quarter gave her 345 for her career. Wallace needs just 23 more to break the Missouri high school career record currently held by Chadwick’s Maddie Hursh (367).
“Everybody knows that that girl is capable of unloading 25-30 points a night, and they’re guarding her with their best defender,” Patton said. “They’re making sure they help off on her. They’re not giving her the open looks.
“She understands that. To her credit, she’s making sure that her teammates are getting the assist. I commend her for understanding the game.”
Wallace converted a three-point play, and a 3-pointer from Taylor Riott gave Spokane a 29-27 lead with 2:43 left in the third quarter. New Covenant called a timeout leading to a free-throw line bucket by Lamb, tying the game at 29.
Another 3 from Riott gave the Lady Owls a 32-29 advantage, one they would not give up the rest of the game.
Spokane 54, New Covenant Academy 37
SPOKANE 10-10-17-17—54
NEW COVENANT ACADEMY 2-18-11-6—37
SPOKANE (7-6) – Kaylee Armitage 6, Micayla McClure 5, Casey Wallace 14, Taylor Riott 10, Paige Tate 15, Zabryna Hodges 4.
NEW COVENANT ACADEMY (7-3) – Alicia Batten 12, Jacey Lamb 16, Susan Cha 9.
