By Gary R. Rasberry
grasberry@dailystandard.com COLDWATER -- It was one of those nights where it seemed like Coldwater could throw anything towards the basket, and more often than not, see it go in.
The Cavaliers shot nearly 65 percent from the floor in the first half and had big nights from several players in posting an 82-51 win over Lima Senior at The Palace for their 10th win of the season in 12 games. The Spartans fall to 2-11 with the loss.
Coldwater started out hot and didn't really cool down until coach Nick Fisher had the subs in during the fourth quarter. Lima Senior led just once when Ladajia Upshaw hit a running jumper to put the Spartans up 3-2 with 7:13 to go in the first quarter.
From there, Coldwater pulled away quickly. An 8-0 run made it 10-3 in the matter of less than 90 seconds. By the 31/2-minute mark of the period, it was 19-9 and at the buzzer for the first quarter, Coldwater was up 27-13 after shooting 10-of-16 from the field and a staggering 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line.
"We've shot the ball fairly well all season," said Fisher. "It was the combination of shooting the ball well and getting good looks. ... They were knocking them down." Kendra Robbins had the hottest of hands, making her first four shots and going 5-of-9 in the period -- 2-of-4 from behind the arc -- for 13 points in the period.
But she was far from being the only accurate shooter. Amber Heyne knocked down all four of her tries in the period to have nine points in the first stanza. Jessica Bettinger hit two of her three tries in the quarter as well.
The rout was on in the second quarter. Robbins, Heyne and the Cavaliers were nailing nearly every shot they threw up. Robbins went on a tear, going 5-of-5 in the quarter to finish the first half scoring 24 points, nearly outscoring the Spartans in her own right. Coldwater led 48-26 at the break and looked to have the game in hand after shooting 20-of-31 from the field (64.5 percent) and 5-of-9 from the three-point line.
All that mattered in the third quarter was to get one more good quarter in before turning things over to the bench. Robbins not only worked towards getting 30 points in the game but also getting two rebounds to earn the double-double. Robbins achieved the double-digit mark in rebounds picking up four in the quarter to finish with 12 -- seven offensive.
"I thought we did a nice job of getting some good ball-movement," said Fisher. "We've been talking about it being important to take care of the ball (Coldwater had just seven turnovers through the first three quarters, 14 total). We shoot for under 12 (turnovers) and we've been that for the last couple of games."
Robbins finished the game with 31 points on 11-of-17 shooting -- 3-of-5 from the three-point line -- and 6-of-7 shooting from the foul line.
Heyne was even more accurate than Robbins, missing just twice in 11 attempts and finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds. Bettinger finished with 14 points with Hemmelgarn adding 10. The Cavaliers finished 31-of-54 from the field for 57.4 percent.
"What was kind of nice was that it was a lot of different people," said Fisher about the scoring totals. "Kendra had a nice game, but I thought Amber shot the ball right down the line. Red (Hemmelgarn) shot the ball well and Jess shot the ball well. Tasha (Stucke) shot well and Katelynn (Kramer) came off the bench and knocked a couple in. That's what I like the most, a combination of a lot of people shooting well."
Shannan Williamson led Lima with 15 points and Upshaw finished with 12.
Coldwater returns to action on Thursday, traveling to New Knoxville for a clash with the Rangers. |
