The Lady Devils kicked off their season this past weekend against Calvary University and NOC Tonkawa. In the first matchup, the ladies would come out with a very strong performance and take the win 91-70. Sophomore transfer, Maisie Schroeder, would lead all scores with 19 in the first game. Ariel Walker would have 15 points and Alejandra Handie would fall in behind her with 14. Courtney Crippen would add 10 of her own and Zariah Sango would start off her freshman career with a double –double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The ladies played a great game of team basketball as they would have 16 assists and shoot nearly 50% from the field.
In the second game, poor shooting would plague the ladies. They would get off to a slow start and find themselves down 12 points fairly quick. Despite the shooting slump, the ladies would make a nice comeback led by Brandi Jordan who was a huge spark for the ladies. The ladies would fight and take a 1 point lead into halftime. The second half would be back and forth the entire 20 minutes as the ladies continued to struggle with their shooting. Ariel Walker would have another strong game with her leadership. With 16 seconds left in a tie game, the ladies had the last possession to take the lead. A drawn out of bounds play would give Ariel Walker the shot the ladies needed, but it would rim out. Gabby Guzman would grab the offensive rebound and get fouled with 1.7 seconds left. However, Gabby could not connect on either free throw. The game would go to overtime where the ladies would miss crucial free throws and find themselves taking their first loss of the season 89-81. The ladies dropped to an ugly 30% from the field from the night before.
And finally, last night the ladies traveled to Fort Scott for their 3rd game in 4 days. The ladies would get off to a slow start in the first half but Alejandra Handie would come in and make a huge impact! Her aggressive play inside would keep the ladies going. In the second half, Zariah Sango would also catch fire and her strong post play would extend the lead for the ladies. Courtney Crippen would have several steals that led to easy transition points as the ladies took a strong 22 point lead late in the 4th. The ladies would take the win on the road 66-54. Alejandra Handie led all scores with 20. Zariah Sango would have another double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Courtney Crippen added 12 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. The ladies will travel to Tonkawa this weekend for two more games including a revenge game vs Tonkawa from the overtime loss.