Box Score
EPHRAIM — The 16th-ranked Snow College Lady Badgers extended their season opening win streak to 12 games with a 75-67 win in Salt Lake Thursday evening over the Salt Lake Community College Bruins. Eleventh-ranked Salt Lake (SLCC) took a 35-29 halftime lead, but the Badgers roared back with 46 points in the second half while holding the Bruins to just 32.
"They (SLCC) execute on offense and defense and make you play their style," said Snow head coach Natalie Visger. "We fell into that for the first 10 minutes of the game. We were flat at the start and struggled getting in a rhythm."
Freshman guard Kaitlyn Hurley led all scorers with 24 points, and her free throw shooting could be pointed to as one of the deciding factors of the game. Hurley made 15 of 16 from the line as the Badgers shot 74 percent from the stripe (26 of 35), while the Bruins hurt themselves going only 17 of 37 (46 percent). "Kait was calm and collected from the line," Visger said. Madison Smith scored 15 points for Snow, going four for seven from the field and four for five from the line. "Maddi was a spark for us," Visger said, "And she breathed life into our defense and our transition offense." Smith pulled down five boards to lead ten different Badgers who had rebounds in the game. Savannah Park added 13 points, and the scrappy guard who is the smallest of the Badgers, grabbed four rebounds including two on the offensive end. "Savannah made some big plays down the stretch for us," Visger said. Park was two for four from 3-point range, and Hurley and Smith were both a perfect three for three. As a team Snow was nine for 12 on trey's (75 percent) while SLCC was a lackluster four for 21 (19 percent).Â
Clarissa Sabedra led the Bruins in scoring with 14 points and Cassidy Whitney had a game-high 13 boards for SLCC to help the Bruins to a 45-37 edge in rebounds. As a team the Bruins shot only 38 percent from the floor, below their season average of 47 percent.Â
"It was a hard fought win against a very solid SLCC team," said Visger. "I thought our bench play was a key factor. Both teams had foul trouble, and I was proud of our whole team for stepping up and contributing." Two Badgers and three Bruins fouled out of the game.Â
"I think this was a measuring stick for us," Visger concluded. "We know that we need to continue to develop and get better and that the toughest stretch is ahead of us."
With the win Snow takes over sole possession of the lead in the Scenic West Athletic Conference at 3-0, with SLCC in second place at 2-1. Southern Idaho (CSI), which lost 83-78 last night at USU-Eastern, is tied with North Idaho (NIC) at 1-1. Â
The Badgers will be back on the road after Christmas, heading to Washington state to play in a tournament. They do not play another league game until Thursday, Jan. 8, when they host 19th-ranked CSI (9-4) and then 8-3 NIC two days later. SLCC (12-3) will play three times over Christmas break including games against second-ranked Hutchinson and seventh-ranked Seward County.
