Lighthouse Christian Academy of Twin Falls made the trip to The Fish Tank in Sun Valley Tuesday, Nov. 30 for two basketball games. The Lions won both games, 37-26 in the girls' game and 46-31 for boys.
Here's a report:
Girls' action
Coach Erika Connelly's Community School girls' basketball team (0-2, 0-1 league) got off to a slow start and it cost them as they fell 37-26 in a Northside home game Tuesday.
The Cutthroats came out flat and found the Lions ready to pounce. Early foul trouble put the hosts on the back foot and allowed the visitors to make a big 14-3 run in the second quarter. The Lions led 20-8 at half.
Coach Connelly played seniors Natalie Goddard and Chelsea Cloud for long stretches of the second half while they were in foul trouble, which limited their aggressiveness and made a Cutthroat comeback that much harder. Despite that shackle on the home team, they outscored Lighthouse Christian 18-17 in the second half.
But the second quarter Lions' lead proved too much for the hosts to overcome.
Lighthouse (2-1) was led by a "Big Three" of seniors Kyanna Jones (21 points) and Alex VerHoeven (9) and freshman Brooklyn Vander Stelt (7).
Solid inside play from Cutthroats Chelsea Cloud (12 points, 4 rebounds) and the fiery Goddard (3 points, 8 boards) showed the home team's spirit. Other scorers were Ella Marks (8 points) and Julie Doan (3).
< < <
Connelly said, "I am really proud of their effort, especially in the fourth quarter. A few players carried foul trouble into the second half and that changed the game. But the girls kept fighting."
Fish boys fall by 15
A cold shooting night and a scoreless third quarter spelled trouble for the Community School's boys' basketball team in a 46-31 loss to Lighthouse.
Henry Rickbeil's big night on the hardwoods (12 points, 14 rebounds) couldn't match the depth of the visiting Lions, who turned a seven-point halftime lead into a 34-14 cushion by dominating the third quarter.
Cutthroat coach Erik Olson said of that tough stretch after halftime, "We just couldn't get going there. Fatigue played a factor, as it was our first game and we used some players in the JV game. But credit to Lighthouse. They forced us into a lot of turnovers in the third quarter and it ended up being the difference at the end."
The Cutthroats (0-1) relied on three starters for all of their scoring, something Olson knows his team will have to improve to compete in the tough Northside Conference.
In addition to Rickbeil's 12 points, freshman Taylor Adler dropped in 13 and Colton Sholtis scored 6. Seniors Eli Albarran (2 rebounds) and Dylan Prescott (3 boards) also chipped in.
Cold Cutthroat shooting (27% field goals, 10-of-37 shooting) was a factor in an otherwise close game. Olson said, "Our shooting was terrible, but we're a young team. We know we'll grow as the season progresses, so one game isn't going to cause us too much worry. We'll keep working on it."
He added, "We played a bunch of freshmen tonight and they did a great job. When you see Taylor playing point guard and realize he's only a freshman, it's easy to be optimistic about this team."
