Grizzlies avoid trap, top Mountain Lions

Markie Henderson took the edge off.

Henderson scored twice, and Bailey Boyack added a goal and an assist to lead the host Grizzlies past the Mountain Lions, 4-0 to maintain first place in the Southwest League and hand Sierra Vista its first league loss of the year.

“That’s the challenge. Do we take the great opportunity after Friday’s game and squander, or do we push it to something better?” Spring Valley coach Bill Hamilton said. “That was the challenge for myself, my assistant coaches and the players. We had a great outcome, but was that going to be the highlight, or are we still building for something better? The girls have been level-headed; they know that our goal is to play one game at a time.

“We can’t overlook anybody. If we have a bad day, anybody’s capable of beating us. Last year, we had those bad days.”

Alexa Hunt put the Grizzlies (6-1-1, 5-0 Southwest) on the scoreboard first, finishing a rebound less than three minutes into the match after Sierra Vista goalkeeper Cypress Whipple made a save on a shot by Henderson, and the Grizzlies cruised from there.

Henderson put the finishing lob on Shelby Mazon’s service into the box in the 28th minute, cheekily chipping the ball into the roof of the net as Spring Valley outshot Sierra Vista (3-7-1, 3-1-1), 8-2 before halftime.

Boyack added a clean-up goal after Whipple made another save on a Henderson shot with five minutes left before halftime, expanding the Grizzlies’ lead to 3-0.

Henderson scored the lone second-half goal in the 57th minute when Boyack cruised downfield on a fast break before crossing to Henderson, who slotted the goal into the bottom left corner.

“She does everything we ask her to do,” Hamilton said of Henderson. “She’s a great team player. Where she could be extremely selfish, she’s not. If it’s not on for her, she’ll give it to somebody else.

But we’ve told her if it’s on, shoot. Her job is to score goals. She’s not the playmaker, she’s the finisher on our team. And she’s done a great job playing with the style, and with the other players.”

Henderson, a junior who has committed to Miami, nearly converted on a handful of other chances as the Grizzlies piled up 16 shots, including eight on goal, in the second half.

Barely three minutes after her second tally, Henderson blitzed the right sideline and barreled through three defenders at the corner of the penalty box to put a shot on goal that was saved at the last instant by Whipple.

“It’s great to have her on our team,” Hamilton added of Henderson. “You always want a player like her on a team. She finds a way to win.”

Megan Delaney, a junior Southern California commit, made four saves to earn the shutout for Spring Valley.