Sandy girls basketball strong 3rd quarter not enough in season opening loss

Published 8:10 pm Wednesday, December 4, 2024

There were flashes during Sandy girls basketball’s season opener, most apparent during a roaring showing out of the halftime locker room.

Despite facing a big deficit, and some daunting size in the post, the Pioneers found another gear against visiting South Eugene. Much of it was driven by drawing some hard fouls and earning trips to the free throw line — in the 3rd quarter Sandy went 8-12 at the line (66.7%).

Savvy senior guard Katy Emerson and promising sophomore guard Laila Kitchen started to break down the Ax defense; junior guard Kaylee Snavley dove after loose balls and collected a handful of steals after a strong offensive first half; and senior post Dahlena U’Ren did yeoman’s work in the paint — a task that will often fall on her shoulders with an undersized Pioneers squad.

All of it led to a small triumph — a 12-11 score differential in favor of the Pioneers in that 3rd quarter.

But on opening night it wasn’t enough to overcome a massive hole dug in the first half, nor a running clock in the 4th quarter, as Sandy fell 63-22 to South Eugene Wednesday evening, Dec. 4.

For South Eugene (1-0), senior Lila June Cadaret had a co-game-high 15 points with 2 three pointers; sophomore center Amelia Hyde also had 15 points; senior guard Zara Karpinski had 11 points with 3 triples; and sophomore forward Capri Betenson added 9 points.

For Sandy (0-1), Emerson had a team-high 6 points with one three pointer; Snavley had 5 points (the lone Pioneers scorer in the first half); and U’Ren had 5 points.