Playing on the road is tough in basketball, but the Wood River High School girls' varsity basketball team is making it look relatively easy in the early stages of the 2009-10 season.
Wood River (5-0) captured its fourth road win Tuesday with a come-from-behind 42-35 non-conference success over the 4A Hillcrest Knights at Idaho Falls. It was Wood River's first win over a 4A team, after four victories over 3A Buhl, Wendell, Filer and Kimberly.
Eight players scored for Wood River.
Wood River coach Mendy Benson said, "The girls got a huge road win against Hillcrest. We did a nice job with defensive transition and coming back from being down nine to 10 points. And we did an excellent job of sharing the wealth on the offensive end."
Sophomore Kaitana Martinez (15.0 ppg) topped the Wolverines with 11 points while sophomore Cheyenne Swanson added a season-best 8 points. Other Hailey scorers were Alex Lindbloom 5, Haylee Thompson 5, Jade Glenn 4, Allie Hesteness 4, Tristin Bowers 3 and Monica Garceau 2.
It was the fourth time Wood River has put seven or more players in the scoring column. But the Wolverines had a bit of a shaky start at Idaho Falls, falling behind 11-6 after one.
Benson said, "Hillcrest's pressuring and pressing interrupted our flow offensively in the first quarter. We settled down in the second quarter and switched some things defensively that they didn't respond well to. We also were 10-for-16 from the free throw line which helped, and 4-6 in the fourth."
Down by a bucket at halftime, Wood River seized the initiative with a 15-5 surge in the third quarter.
"Cheyenne Swanson was huge to start the third. She came out on fire and had our first six points. Allie Hesteness and Alex Lindbloom also came up with huge buckets in the second half. Monica Garceau, Haylee Thompson, Jade Glenn and Cheyenne did a nice job on the boards," Benson said.
McKenna Herrera (12 points) topped the Knights (3-3).
Wood River opened its Great Basin Conference season Thursday, Dec. 3 with a home game against the tough Jerome Tigers (5-1). Jerome defeated Mountain Home 46-29 Tuesday.
Wood River entertains Buhl (1-4) on Saturday, Dec. 5 for a matinee of games starting at 1 p.m. with the freshman game. The junior varsity begins at 2:30 p.m. and varsity 4 p.m.
Wood River soph Haylee Thompson (right) muscles past Carey High School senior Amy Ellsworth during a Nov. 10 jamboree in Hailey. Photo by David N. Seelig
