Lady Cardinals bounce back after stumbling in district tournament

The Lady Cardinals began district tournament play last week.  Soda would enter the tournament as the number one seed and would face off against the number four seeded West Side Pirates.  As expected the Cardinals would get the win and advance to the next round.  In round two of the tournament Soda Springs would go up against Bear Lake on Saturday.  During the regular season the Lady Cardinals would win both matchups against the Bears.  The Bird Nest was packed as both fanbases knew how important winning in this round would be.  The winner of this game would advance to the championship game and hold a one game advantage over whomever came back from the losers bracket.  Right from the start of this one Bear Lake looked like they had the momentum.  The Lady Bears active hands and hustle created multiple turnovers that led to scoring.  Getting the Cardinals out of sync on defense combined with hot shooting from the Bears helped Bear Lake jump out to a 14-4 lead partway through the first quarter.  The Cardinals would try to battle back and at the end of the first they would trail 18-9.  In the second quarter the hot shooting from the Bears would continue.  The Cardinals would respond with rushed shots and uncharacteristic out of position defense made it difficult for Soda to try and get back into the game.  As the half came to a close a long three point shot by Soda was a bright spot and brought the score to 35-22 in favor of the Bears.  In the third quarter the Cardinals wouldn't fare much better.  The Bears would get second chance opportunities to score while Soda Springs would go one and done on the offensive end. The Cardinals would get outscored 17-10 in the quarter.  The Cardinals would make a run in the fourth but ran out of time.  They would cut the lead down to 12 but never closer.  The final would be 57-44 in favor of Bear Lake.

After dropping the game against Bear Lake the Lady Cardinals would face off against the Malad Dragons on Monday in a loser out game.  These two teams split the regular season series each winning tight games on their home floors.  That statistic would favor the Cardinals as the game took place in Soda Springs on Monday night.  Early in this game it was a defensive battle as each team struggled to score.  As the quarter moved on once again the Lady Cardinals would give their opponent several second chance points and as the quarter came to a close Soda Springs trailed Malad 14-7.  From there the Cardinals would go on a 10-2 run limiting the Dragons to just one made basket through six and a half minutes and temporarily grab the lead at 17-16.  Soda would briefly falter to end the half trailing 20-17.  The two teams would slug it out in the third and the lead would change several times and there would be numerous ties.  In the end however Soda would create some breathing room and take a seven point lead into the fourth quarter.  Malad would start the fourth with greater intensity causing a little panic in the Cardinals.  The lead would be cut down to four before the Cardinals would regain their composure and push the lead up to ten.  Malad would be forced to play the foul game and the Lady Cardinals would make enough free throws to secure the victory 54-46.

Soda Springs will now get their chance at Bear Lake again as the two teams will face off on Wednesday February 7th on a neutral court in West Side.  The Cardinals will need to win that game and beat the Bears a second time the following night in order to win the district. A loss would mean second place and earn them a play-in game against a sixth district opponent yet to be determined.