Faith Lutheran girls get defensive, stifle Boulder City
Faith Lutheran girls basketball coach Jennifer Karner outlined a goal for her players Saturday: hold Boulder City to single-digit scoring in every quarter.
The Crusaders carried out the plan to near perfection.
Faith Lutheran limited its former Class 3A Southern League rival to single digits in the first three periods on the way to a 48-30 home victory.
Boulder City mustered six points in the first quarter, nine in the second, five in the third and finally 10 in the fourth.
“Coach came out and said keep them under 10,” Faith Lutheran senior forward Alex Treadwell said. “That’s what we did, and that’s why we got a win; it basically was our defense.”
Treadwell led the Crusaders (5-12) with 21 points, nine rebounds and three steals.
Faith Lutheran hurried to an 11-2 lead and had four players score in the first four minutes.
“It was a very good start,” Karner said. “I told my girls they had to come out fired up because Boulder City is a very scrappy team, and if we got ahead early we had to keep that lead. They did a good job of that.”
Ashley Green had 12 points and four assists for Faith Lutheran, which is more confident after winning two of its last four games. The Crusaders are 1-7 in the Northwest League in their first year at the 4A level.
“We’re still a pretty young team, so we have our young moments out here on the court,” said Karner, whose team has three seniors. “I hope we’re building from here.”
Karlee Koopman scored all 11 of her points in the first half for Boulder City (7-8). The Eagles trailed 26-15 at the break, having had two players score.
Boulder City pulled to within 28-20 midway through the third quarter while Faith Lutheran’s starting point guard, Kelsey McCourt, was sidelined with three fouls.
But the Crusaders responded with a 9-0 run capped by a Treadwell put-back to take a 37-20 lead.
“She’s doing a much better job of finishing her shots and having confidence in her play down low,” Karner said of Treadwell, who didn’t play as a junior. “She missed last year and came back out a little rusty, but now she’s hit her stride.”
