The Carey High School girls' varsity basketball team notched its second win of the season with a 48-37 victory over the Community School Cutthroats in Sun Valley Tuesday evening.
The Cutthroats kept the game close until the fourth quarter, when a scoring surge by Panthers Allison Shaffer and Kayla Bailey sealed the win for Carey.
The Cutthroat effort was hampered by lots of fouls, even though the Panthers converted only 14 of 38 shots from the free thrown line. But the Cutthroat fouling took its toll anyway, as three Community School starters—Cody Curran, Emily Eshman and Caroline Fairchild—committed one too many and fouled out in the second half.
"I didn't like the foul situation—we'll have to work on that," said Community School coach Ryan Waterfield.
Scoring was sparse by both teams in the first quarter, which ended with the Cutthroats on top 7-5. Carey outdueled Community School the second period by 16-11 to end the half with a 21-18 lead.
Both teams were hot in the third, the Community School scoring 17 and Carey 16, leading to a Panther 37-35 lead at the end of the quarter.
But the Cutthroats could manage only two points in the final period, compared to 11 for the Panthers on the Shaffer and Bailey scoring surge. Final score: Carey 48, Community School 37.
Shaffer led all scoring with 15 points. Bailey scored 11 and Panther Jennifer Cenarrusa chipped in 10.
The Cutthroats were led by Jessie Curran with 10.
The Panthers are now 2-0. Community School is 0-2.
Waterfield said she was mostly pleased with her team's performance. "We just hurt ourselves with the foul situation," she said. "It was a nightmare in that regard."
Carey coach Lane Durtschi was cautiously optimistic about his team's 2-0 season start.
"I really like how we're rebounding and making points inside—those are the two things that stood out to me," Durtschi said.
"The girls are pretty positive and play well as a team," he said.
Durtschi said his team will be tested against the Richfield Tigers, who have started their season at 4-0 and have handed crushing defeats to their opponents thus far.
"That will tell us a lot about how good or bad we are," Durtschi said prior to Thursday's showdown in Carey against the Tigers.
Today and Saturday, the Panthers host the Carey Holiday Tournament. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, they travel to Shoshone with the JV game starting at 6 p.m., followed by varsity action at 7:30.
Community School plays in Hansen tonight with JV action set to start at 5 p.m. and the varsity game at 6:30. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, the Cutthroats host Richfield with the JV game at 6 p.m. and varsity action at 7:30.
Panther Scoring
Allison Shaffer 5 5-13 15, Kayla Bailey 5 1-5 11, Jennifer Cenarrusa 4 2-10 10, Jessica Park 2 3-6 5, Kelsey Green 0 3-4 3, Amy Ellsworth 1 0-0 2, Kendra Olson 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 14-38 48.
Cutthroat Scoring
Jessie Curran 5 0-1 10, Amaya Ingram 3 1-2 8, Caroline Fairchild 3 0-0 6, Cody Curran 2 1-1 5,
Emily Eshman 1 2-4 4, Jean Montgomery 1 2-5 4, Chloe Lynn 0 0-2 0. Three-point goals: Amaya Ingram 1. Totals 15 6-15 37.
Community School?s Jean Montgomery Photo by David N. Seelig
