Lady Steers lockdown Lake View 50-39
The second meeting between the Big Spring Lady Steers (9-22, 3-3) and the Lake View Maidens (13-14, 0-6) in the last two-and-a-half weeks brought a similar result to the first game. After a 32-25 defensive drubbing of the Maidens in Lake View on Jan. 14, the Lady Steers firmly out-rebounded their district rival on Friday night on the way to a 50-39 win.
Lake View junior guard Alaysia Capuchina was on fire for the Maidens in the first quarter. Capuchina scored eight of her team's 12 first-quarter points and was able to bully her way through the lane and into the paint for some high-percentage shots.
Trinity Galloway had the majority of the Lady Steers' chances in the first quarter and notched four points with her team trailing 12-7 heading into the second. The Lady Steers' regular season leading-scorer finished the first half with nine points, with five of those coming courtesy of the free-throw line.
In a change of pace for the Lady Steers, they were extremely active on the defensive side of the ball and forced the Maidens into several pressure-based turnovers. Big Spring was able to take advantage of those turnovers and convert them into points on the other end of the court.
Senior point guard Tristan Smith took care of the ball throughout the first half and dished out three assists. Although she scored only seven points, Smith undoubtedly had one of her best games of the season serving as an anchor for the offense by getting her teammates involved with open looks.
“We've been talking with her all week challenging her to get her turnovers down and I think she played a lot more confident in how she's handling the ball,” Jim said.
With both teams struggling to find the bottom of the basket to close out the first half, the Lady Steers were holding a 24-22 lead at halftime.
Both teams began the second half scoreless through the first three minutes before Capuchina was able to tie the game. That possession seemed to light a fire under the Lady Steers with them quickly regaining their lead over the Maidens. Following a low-scoring third quarter, the Lady Steers charged into the fourth leading 33-29 in a back-and-forth matchup.
Senior forward Madison Kuykendall came off the bench on Friday night and dominated the post by grabbing 10 rebounds and finishing the game with 9 points. Big Spring limited Lake View to only 10 points in the fourth and were able to coast to their third district victory and a season sweep of the Maidens.
In a playoff-clinching win for Big Spring, they also managed to snap their short two-game losing streak. Jim would still like her team to put a full 40 minutes together on the court and will be enforcing that at practice over the next week.
“Again, we didn't play a full four quarters,” Jim said. “We finally picked it up in the second half. Our first half wasn't very good but I'm glad we responded and got the job done.”
With just two games remaining in the regular season the Lady Steers have recently found a formula that works for them and will look to build on their current momentum the next time they take the court.
UP NEXT: The Lady Steers host the Sweetwater Lady Mustangs next Friday night at 8:00 P.M.