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Lady Tigers thump El Dorado Springs, 65-18
There wasn’t much suspense in Tuesday night’s rivalry matchup between the Nevada Lady Tigers and El Dorado Springs Bulldogs.
The non-conference hoops contest at Wynn Gym was all Nevada from start to finish, as the Lady Tigers built a 32-5 first quarter lead — en route to the convincing 47-point victory.
The throttling of El Do was the Lady Tigers second consecutive blowout victory, after having crushed Warrensburg 51-16, Friday night on the road.
For much of the season, the Lady Tigers have been a low-scoring, grind-it-out, defensive-minded club — having scored 42 points or less eight times this season. Dating back to their Jan. 20 loss to Providence Academy in the KANG Invitational, however, the Lady Tigers have scored 50 points or more four times, and seem to be gelling offensively.
Nevada sophomore point guard Calli Beshore starred for the Lady Tigers on Tuesday, with her elite defensive play wreaking havoc on El Do. Beshore concluded the first quarter with 13 points and three steals, as Nevada led by 27.
The second quarter opened with a Lindley Ferry bucket from close range, and a 34-5 Nevada lead. The first half closed out with a Hailee Lundine drive-and-dish to Lindsay Phebus for the lay-up, and with 2.5 seconds on the clock, a Tylin Heathman offensive rebound and lay-in to hand the Lady Tigers a 42-11 advantage.
Nevada’s dominance continued into the third quarter, with the the Lady Tigers outscoring the Bulldogs 16-3, swelling the lead to 58-14 through three quarters of play.
Midway through the final frame, Nevada junior forward Sydney Ernsbarger knocked down a 5-foot jumper to collect her first career varsity points, as the Lady Tigers rolled to victory.
For Nevada (14-8), Beshore dropped in a game-high 18 points, to go along with five steals. Alison Bower chipped in eight points, while Hailey Jackson and Tylin Heathman added six apiece — as 10 Lady Tigers checked into the scoring column.
“I’m proud of the girls,” said Nevada head coach, Brent Bartlett during his postgame radio interview. “They’re having fun playing the game they loved growing up. The teamwork was really outstanding.”
Bartlett said he was pleased in particular with his squad’s pressure defense, which he has utilized with more frequency since expanding his rotation to nine players. Bartlett described the defense as a “circle-rotating press.” “You have to have depth and quickness,” explained Bartlett of his pressure defense. “And we have good depth and good quickness. I was really pleased with our effort offensively and defensively. We’re playing at a good pace right now.”
Up next
The Lady Tigers return to the court Friday for their home finale — a West Central Conference clash with the Center High School Lady Yellowjackets. Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m.