Lady Cards Pick-up Two Conference Wins

After returning from some hard fought battles in their trip to Southern Utah the Lady Cardinals have looked like a much improved team.  The Lady Cardinals jumped into district play last week with a pair of games against the two fourth district teams in the conference.  Soda Springs week began with a home game against the Wendell Lady Trojans on Thursday.  The Lady Cardinals came out shooting hot from outside.  In just the first quarter they would hit three three-point shots on their way to a five point first quarter lead.  The Lady Trojans would do their best to try to keep pace with a pair of threes of their own but the Lady Cardinals controlled the first half of play.  In the second quarter Soda Springs spread out the scoring more and hit several foul shots building the lead from five to thirteen points.  In the third quarter of play the game tightened up with the Lady Trojans matching the intensity of the Lady Cardinals.  Another trio of three point shots helped Soda Springs maintain their lead going into the fourth and final period.  In that final period Wendell would make a run at the Cardinals.  Soda Springs struggled to get baskets to fall in the final period only accounting for a single field goal while adding just three made foul shots.  In the end however the run by the Lady Trojans was too little too late to overcome the Lady Cardinals double digit lead they had at the start of the quarter.  Though Soda Springs did walk away with their first conference win of the season by a comfortable eight points they still have several tough conference games ahead of them.

Next up on their conference schedule was a tough road trip to Declo last Saturday to take on the Lady Hornets.  This was another one of those games where the Lady Cardinals would be giving up some size to their opponents.  What we are learning about this team is what they lack in size they make up for with speed and tenacity.  The Lady Cardinals struck first in this game using their speed and shooting ability and grabbed the lead in a somewhat low scoring first quarter.  In the second quarter the Lady Hornets adjusted to the Lady Cardinals and just fourty-five seconds into the period Declo earned their first lead of the game.  After holding the Lady Hornets to just six first quarter points Soda Springs watched as Declo went on an 8-0 run in the first two minutes of the second quarter.  After getting stung early in the quarter by the Lady Hornets the Lady Cardinals stabilized keeping the game close.  At the halftime break Soda Springs still trailed but just by three points.  The third quarter started a little slow for both teams, then about two minutes in, Gronning got her first points of the game with a three point shot that tied the game up.  Just one minute later the Cardinals would regain the lead.  For the first seven minutes of the third quarter Soda Springs would hold Declo to just two points and build a six point lead.  Then in the closing seconds of the quarter the Lady Hornets hit a pair of threes, sending the game into the final period all knotted up once again.  In the fourth quarter for the second game in a row Ana Davis took over the game.  Davis scored an incredible ten points in the final stanza helping Soda Springs to pull away.  A late three point shot by Declo cut the lead from ten to seven but the Lady Cardinals earned the road win.  Davis had an incredible week as she led the team in scoring in both games.  Davis has seemed to improve with each week after having to play a little catch up after taking a hiatus from the team last season.  She has been a great addition to the team this season.   

Anna Davis played two very good games last week. Davis led the Lady Cardinals in scoring in both games.

The Lady Cardinals, now riding a three game winning streak, have a tough week this week.  They played a physical American Falls team on Tuesday then will have to turn right around and host a solid West Side team on Wednesday.  They will finish the gauntlet week with a road game at Ririe against a very tough Bulldog team.  They will then get some time to rest and relax as they will not hit the court again until after the holiday break.

Cardinals 15 17 12 5 49

Trojans 10 9 12 10 41

C. Gronning 16, R. Harris 5, M. Kempe 2, A. Davis 18, E. Wood 5, D. Frandsen 3

Cardinals 8 10 11 16 45

Hornets 6 15 8 9 38

J. Parker 4, C. Gronning 9, R. Harris 10, M. Kempe 3, A. Davis 19