by Malcolm Butler
It was a mismatch from the start.
And it continued for all 32 minutes.
The No. 2 ranked Cedar Creek Lady Cougars (19-3, 1-0) jumped out to an early lead and then cruised to a 54-13 win over winless Glenbrook (0-10, 0-1) Friday night in Minden in the District 1-1A opener for both teams.
Sophomore Alivia Lee scored 13 points and junior Taylor Martinez added 11 points as eight different Creek players got into the scoring column in the victory.
The Lady Cougars were playing for the first time in a week and head coach Katie Hall said she was happy with what she saw.
“It was good to play against somebody besides ourselves,” said the second-year Lady Cougars head coach. “We were able to work on some things that we needed to work on to get better tonight.
“Defensively, we wanted to apply more ball pressure, but also stay in the gaps so we aren’t getting beat. Offensively, we wanted to push the ball in transition to be better at that. We were also able to work on some zone offense.”
Martinez got the Lady Cougars started right off the opening tip, draining the first of her three three-pointers on the night as Creek took a 3-0 lead less than 10 seconds into the contest. Lee then scored the first of her game-high 13 points one minute later with a corner three-pointer, one of eight made by Cedar Creek on the night.
When the Lady Cougars weren’t scoring in transition, they were sharing the basketball in their half-court offense, getting open looks much of the night.
“I thought we moved the ball really well tonight,” said Hall. “It’s all them. They are learning to trust each other, and they are learning to pass it around and make defenders move. This group finds joy in sharing the basketball. They talk about it afterwards. They celebrate that. We moved the ball really well tonight, and it was fun to watch.”
Mallory Smith and Avery Ryan hit back-to-back layups during a 40 second stretch and with 5:20 to play in the opening quarter, Cedar Creek led 10-0.
Caroline James drained her only three-pointer of the night with 3:35 to play and then Ryan added two more buckets and Smith another layup as the Lady Cougars led 20-1. Mary Grace Hawkins drilled a corner three-pointer with 5 seconds to play in the opening period to give Creek a 25-4 lead after the first.
Martinez and Lee started the second quarter like the began the game, hitting back-to-back three-pointers. A pair of Zoey Venters free throws followed by a Smith three-pointer upped the Creek advantage to 38-7 with just over a minute to play in the second quarter.
Leading 41-7 at halftime, Lee pulled down an offensive rebound and made the putback 15 seconds into the third quarter to push the lead to 36 points, initiating the running clock for the rest of the contest.
Martinez connected on her third three-pointer with 5 minutes to play in the third and the Lady Cougars held a 49-11 lead entering the final stanza.
Britton Bennett opened the fourth quarter with a corner three-pointer as Cedar Creek recorded the lopsided win to start league action.
“It’s always good to get a win on the road,” said Hall. “No matter who it’s against, but in district especially. It’s nice to start off in the right direction in district play.”
Ryan added nine points and Smith eight for the Lady Cougars.
Creek will host Ringgold Tuesday night at The Brickhouse.
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Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points
Alivia Lee 5(2)-1=13; Mary Grace Hawkins 1-1=4; Britton Bennett 1(1)-0-3; Caroline James 1(1)-0=3; Mallory Smith 3(1)-1=8; Taylor Martinez 4(3)-0=11; Zoey Venters 1-2=4; Avery Ryan 3-3=9. Totals: 19(8)-8=54
Score by Quarters
Cedar Creek (19-3, 1-0): 25-16-8-5=54
Glenbrook (0-10, 0-1): 4-3-4-2=13
