The Morton Maidens hosted the #5 ranked Whiteface Lady Lopes for a district basketball matchup this past Tuesday night, with the Lady Lopes coming out on top, 70-20.
The Lady Lopes earned the blowout win with a suffocating defensive effort and great offensive rebounding, which both in return led to numerous open shots and easy points.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start (led 22-12 after first quarter), but once we got through the first quarter and loosened up, we held them to two in the second quarter, zero in the third quarter and six in the fourth quarter,” Lady Lopes Head Basketball Coach Jason Blankenship said. “Defensively, we got going, and the defense fuels our offense, and that makes it fun.”
Coach Blankenship went on to credit the shift in the final three quarters to his girls’ communication and uptick in energy. He also praised Keyarah Castaneda and Kambry Sanders for their effort on the offensive glass, which led to a lot of second chance opportunities.
As a team, the Lady Lopes outshot the Maidens, 34% to 20% from the field and 26% to 7% from three, while also besting them 55-33 in rebounds, 21-4 in assists, 21-7 in steals and winning the turnover margin by 22.
Individual standouts for the Lady Lopes included Emily Blankenship with 22 points powered by six threepointers made and a 4/4 free throw effort, adding nine assists, four steals and three rebounds, Kambry Sanders with 14 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five steals, and Lainey Sanders with 14 points, eight steals, six rebounds and three assists.
Others included Castaneda with 12 points, 13 rebounds, an assist and a steal, and Taryn Turnipseed with four points, nine rebounds and a steal.
The win marks the Lady Lopes 22nd in a row, moving them to 26-2 overall and 7-0 in district play, which puts them as the stand-alone leader in 2A District 5.
On the Maidens side of things, a fifty-point loss is never the desired result, but the silver lining was the great defense they showed in the game, besting the Lady Lopes 7-0 in the blocks category and holding them below 35% shooting from the field.
They forced many Whiteface turnovers and missed shots, but the offense couldn’t match the defense’s effectiveness, which eventually wore the defense down in the loss. And on top of that, their defensive aggressiveness led to foul trouble, which hampered their effectiveness.
“Unfortunately, shots weren’t falling early for us, and then we got into foul trouble,” Maidens Interim Head Basketball Coach Martin Adams said. “I had to kind of back it off and play more conservatively. But overall, I think we’re getting better with our ball movement and ball handling, just hopefully shots start falling for us next time.”
Coach Adams also said there’s valuable things his girls can learn from their loss against an elite team, including how to play against fast-paced teams, improve their zone defense and limit opponents’ second chance opportunities.
Scorers for the Maidens included Addy Sabala with six points, Khloe Aguirre with four points, Addison Enriquez with three points, Blaize Garza, Haylee Toscano and Ada Torres all with two points, and Evolet Vigil with one point.
The loss drops the Maidens to 10-15 overall and 2-5 in district play, which puts them fifth in the 2A District 5 standings.
Following the game, the Maidens will be back in action over the weekend at Seagraves, while the Lady Lopes enjoy a bye.