Berthoud High girls basketball suffers first defeat of 2010
By Dan Karpiel
Sports Writer
[1]- Point guard Megan McGinn passes in period 3
The Berthoud High girls basketball team lost their first game of the young 2010-11 season on Tuesday night. The Lady Spartans fell to Mountain View by a score of 46-27 in the Berthoud High gym. Tuesday evening’s contest was the opening game of the Spartan Basketball Invite, a weeklong tournament where the Lady Spartans will face off with Mountain View, Thompson Valley and Northridge.
The Mountain Lions simply proved too strong both offensively and defensively for the Spartans. After a defensive battle in the first period ended with an 8-7 Mountain View lead, the Mountain Lions found their offensive groove and out-scored the Lady Spartans 18-7 in the second period. Mountain View took advantage of Berthoud’s turnovers and poor shooting as they went on a 13-0 run beginning around the midway point of the second period. “We could have played defense a little better there but we just couldn’t get any shots,” Berthoud Head Coach Randy Earl said after the game. “We were 11 for 50 or something like that and that’s just not going to make it,” the coach added. Berthoud’s full-court press late in the second period helped stall the Mountain Lion charge but the damage had already been done as Berthoud trailed 26-14 at halftime.
Mountain View’s strong performance would continue in the second half. The Mountain Lions began the third period with a 12-2 scoring run, building an insurmountable 34-18 lead. “That’s just part of the game…. you’ve got to hit some shots and when you don’t hit shots the kids start to get frustrated,” Coach Earl explained. To their credit, the Lady Spartans battled through to the end and out-scored Mountain View 9-6 in the final period. However, it was the rough middle portion of the game, where Berthoud was out-scored by 21 points in the second and third periods combined, that did the Spartans in on Tuesday night.
Senior center Amy Loberg lead Berthoud in scoring with nine points on the evening. Sophomore Hannah Haggas added six and seniors Megan McGinn and Julia Perry each scored four points. McGinn, Berthoud’s point guard, lead the team in assists with two. Mountain View’s Keshia Gonzales was clearly the most dominant player on the floor Tuesday night, scoring 11 points and adding two assists. Gonzales was a force at both ends of the floor, tallying 14 rebounds, four steals and one blocked shot.
The Lady Spartans are now 3-1 on the season and have two games remaining in the Berthoud Invite. The girls will face off with Thompson Valley on Thursday night and will conclude the week with a Saturday evening contest versus Northridge. Both games begin at 7:00pm in the Berthoud High gymnasium
[2]- Forward Danielle Wikre shoots a layup in the 4th period