Lady Cardinals Drop Two Tough Games

Last week the Lady Cardinals played a pair of very tough games.  They began their week on the road last Wednesday at Grace.  Soda Springs and Grace met earlier this season in a very competitive game in Soda Springs.  Grace earned the win in that game coming away with an eight point win.  In last week’s game the Lady Cardinals were hoping to get their revenge on their cross county rival but some early missed shots and foul trouble made accomplishing that task very difficult.  In the first quarter of the game the Lady Cardinals struggled to hit many shots.  In fact Courtnee Gronning’s pair of three point shots and one short jumper were the only field goals the Lady Cardinals had in the first quarter of play.  Despite the low offensive output Soda Springs only trailed Grace by five after one.  The scoring picked up in the second period but so did the foul trouble.  Even though the Lady Cardinals were able to outscore the Lady Grizzlies in the second period they ended the first half with twelve fouls.  The Lady Grizzlies earned ten first half points off of foul shots and held a four point lead at the halftime break.  In the third quarter the Lady Grizzlies were able to build on their lead due to more scoring woes from the Lady Cardinals.  Gronning stayed sharp from the outside adding eight more points but the only other scoring in the quarter came from Davis off of a made free throw and a field goal.  In the fourth quarter the Lady Cardinals got back on track with five different girls scoring baskets with the team putting up their most points in a single quarter.  Unfortunately the Lady Grizzlies were not only able to match them but actually outpaced them by one basket.  In the end the Lady Cardinals lost this rematch game to the Lady Grizzlies by ten points. 

The Lady Cardinals could not dwell on the disappointing loss because next up on their docket was top ranked Malad.  The Lady Dragons have been rolling this season dominating the majority of their opponents.  Early in this game the Lady Cardinals battled hard against the taller team.  The Lady Cardinals were able to hit three three point shots in the first and found themselves just trailing by a single point.  However Malad would score the final six points of the quarter and take a seven point lead into the second quarter.  In the second quarter is where the game got away from the Lady Cardinals.  Soda Springs would only manage six points in the quarter while Malad would add another twenty-one to take a commanding lead into the halftime break.  The Lady Cardinals showed some signs of life coming out of the half as they started the third on a 7-0 run.  Unfortunately Malad regained control and finished the third outscoring the Lady Cardinals by ten in the remaining minutes of the quarter.  The Lady Cardinals did their best to stay competitive in the fourth but were still outscored.  The Lady Cardinals suffered their second loss of the week.  The Lady Cardinals will look to end their four game skid this week as they enter league play.  Soda Springs will host Aberdeen on Wednesday then travel to West Side on Friday.  Both of those games are winnable games for the Lady Cardinals and are crucial if Soda Springs wants to hang on to second place in the district. 

Cardinals 11 16 11 18 56

Grizzlies 16 15 15 20 66

J. Parker 10, C. Gronning 19, R. Harris 2, M. Kempe 1, A. Davis 15, E. Wood 6

Cardinals 13 6 10 11 40

Dragons 20 21 13 14 68

J. Parker 3, C. Gronning 9, R. Harris 11, M. Kempe 2, A. Davis 10, E. Wood 3, D. Frandsen 2