By Malcolm Butler
Fast starts are becoming common place for the Cedar Creek Lady Cougars.
Head coach Katie Hall’s bunch jumped out to a 26-8 first quarter lead, overcame a brutal second quarter shooting slump and then coasted to a 55-19 win over Glenbrook Tuesday night at The Brickhouse.
Six different Lady Cougars netted points in the opening eight minutes led by Alivia Lee’s six, Olivia Underwood’s five and Mallory Smith’s five as Creek (9-8) shared the basketball to the tune of eight assists in the opening frame.
“We are clicking,” said Hall. “I am proud of them. We have worked through the muck and this is where we are seeing the light finally.”
Creek hit 11 field goals in the opening quarter and appeared poised to have one of its biggest scoring nights of the year. Underwood opened the scoring with a three and Zoey Venters then added back-to-back buckets as Creek took a quick 7-0 lead in the opening two minutes.
Smith got involved with five straight points before Leah Sutherland’s two free throws with 3:37 to play gave the Lady Cougars their first double digit lead at 16-6. Lee scored six straight points over a 60 second span late in the quarter and Caroline James hit a 15-footer with under a minute to play to cap the scoring.
The second quarter wouldn’t be as pretty.
Mary Grace Hawkins hit a three-pointer at the 6:40 mark and James drained a three with 5:55 to play to give the Lady Cougars a 32-8 lead. It would be the final points of the frame as Creek went almost six full minutes without a point.
“The second quarter we hit that wall,” said Hall. “We got in foul trouble and the coach probably sat some players too long. We backed off the press which brings us energy when it works for us.”
While Creek struggled offensively, the Lady Cougars defense stayed strong limiting Glenbrook (0-6) to just four points as Creek led 32-12 at the half.
The third quarter was much better for the Lady Cougars as they outscored the Apaches 18-4 led by five from Underwood and Hawkins and four by Venters.
Creek led 50-16 at the end of three and coasted to the win.
For the game, the Lady Cougars hit seven three-pointers and hit just 6-of-11 free throws.
Underwood led the way with 10 points, Hawkins added nine and Lee, Venters and James each scored eight points.
“I love how we have equal scoring,” said Hall. “It’s just nice not to have to rely on just one person. I feel like we are shooting the ball pretty well after our holiday break. I am glad they have the confidence to keep shooting although we shot so poorly right before the break.”
The Lady Cougars will travel to New Orleans to face Saline at the Smoothie King Center Friday at 12:30 p.m.
