Stratford 64 vs. Spring Woods 27

The opening game of the SBISD Tournament had the Spartans playing inside our District against the Spring Woods Tigers at the Spartans' gym. The Spartans hit the repeat button on the game plan and came away with another convincing win.

The tone was set right from the start when Claire Kadane took the opening tip and drove to the basket for an easy two points. She followed up with another layup on the next trip down the court. The scoring kept going when Sophia Prejean grabbed a rebound and took it the length of the court for a layup of her own. Allie Moss wanted to get in on the breakaway layup act, so she made two driving layups in a row off steals. Sophia wasn’t done as she knocked down another 5 points in the quarter. Shelby Thibodeaux and Abigail Williams cleaned the boards making rebounds and keeping the Tigers out of the paint. Zoe Thompson had multiple steals and added four points by slashing to the basket. Stella Weiss added another basket with her typical go-hard-in-the paint work. The defense only gave up two three-pointers and the first quarter ended 21-6.

The second quarter “runaway” which has become a signature of this team showed up again. Shelby got things going with a put-back for two. Brooke Sponsel went to work on the boards and earned herself two buckets and a trip to the line for another point. Sophia hit a big three and another put-back shot in the paint. Allie added another layup and went to the line for another point as well. Stella was starting to get things going, adding two points in the quarter. The defense really stood up with some great work by Madeline John and Aniyah Cunningham on the perimeter. The Spartans only gave up one three-pointer for the quarter to take a halftime lead of 38-9.

The third quarter played out a little differently than we are used to seeing. The Spartan defense stayed strong and wasn’t allowing much action inside the three-point line. With no other options for the Tigers, they starting shooting from distance. They managed to knock down five threes in a short amount of time. The Spartans answered by tightening up the defense and going to work in the paint. The girls then started some scoring of their own. Stella dropped in 6 points, and Allie, Claire, Brooke, and Sophia each added a bucket. The ball was moving around well, allowing lots of different scoring options. Zoe added 3 assists for the quarter. The score going into the fourth was 52-25.

The fourth quarter was again time to close up shop and secure the win. The defense held the Tigers to only two points. The scoring for the quarter was led by Abigail and Stella with four a piece. Stella’s four points evened her with Sophia, tying for a game high 14 points. Brooke added another bucket, and she and Allie ended with 9 apiece. Not to be outdone, Madeline dropped in a late basket to get in on the scoring. The game would end 64-27 to get the Spartans off to a good start in the tournament.

Stratford 32 vs. DeKaney 9

The girls came back home to Stratford for a Tuesday night game against the Spring DeKaney Wildcats. The location didn’t seem to matter because the Freshman Girls have been consistent with their type of play and results through the first six games of the season. Stellar defense and balanced scoring again led to an easy victory for the Spartans.

The Wildcats proved to be an aggressive team and the refs made it known early they intended to let the girls play. The Spartans matched their intensity with a new look trapping perimeter defense. Claire Kadane and Allie Moss created multiple steals early. Again, if the Cats did make it to the post area or get a shot off,  Shelby Thibodeaux, Abigail Williams, and Sophia Prejean completely dominated the area. Sophia blocked shots early and often on her way to a game-high 5 blocks. She also got some help from Brooke Sponsel, Claire, and Shelby, who added blocks of their own. The girls finally started to break through as Shelby added a short jumper, followed by a nice basket by Claire on a good pass from Allie. Brooke worked the boards for a bucket, and Claire added a free throw and layup to close out the scoring at 9-0 for the quarter.

The second quarter seems to be the breakout quarter for the girls,  and this game proved no different. Defense stayed stingy as Zoe Thompson came back for her first game in a couple weeks and went right to work creating takeaways. She had plenty of help as Madeline John, Phoebe Heidel, Aniyah Cunningham, Stella Weiss, and Ginger Koss made sure the Cats weren’t going to get on the board. Shelby then got the points flowing. She scored four quick points on breakaways with long pass assists from Sophia and Zoe. Stella worked the post with drives to add another four points, and Zoe and Claire chipped in with a bucket as well. The scoring closed out with a coast-to-coast bucket by Sophia, and the rout was on: 23-2 at half.

Things settled and slowed down in the third with good defense and rebounding by all the girls. Scoring was less as the girls worked the ball to finish out the game. Zoe hit a nice three to get things going. Madeline hit a jumper, and Sophia ran the full floor again for a nice layout. The game was well in hand, 30-2 after three.

The fourth was just a formality. Brooke cleaned up a loose rebound and added the only points of the quarter for the Spartans. The girls gave up a few points to DeKaney, but the final was another win, 32-9 to go to 5-1 for the season.

Stratford 43 vs. Aldine Davis 25

The November Tour of the Greater Houston Area continued Monday as the girls visited Aldine Davis Falcons, but this time Coach Dixon was at the helm. The girls continued to do what they have done all year with strong defense and balanced scoring. This game had better ball movement as the girls are starting to know each other and play together better every game.

The first quarter had the Spartans again jump out to a quick lead with all the girls getting in the act early. Claire Kadane had two baskets. Allie Moss, Shelby Thibodeaux, and Sophia Prejean added a bucket a piece. The defense held up well, but there would be no first quarter runaway like previous weeks. The Falcons used their speed and tested our girls to get up and down the court. The girls answered the call and only allowed 4 points. Aniyah Cunnigham did a good job of stopping a few breakaways with solid hustle defense.

The second quarter was when our post player height and skill took center stage. The Falcons started to press, and Claire, Allie, Aniyah, and Madeline John had to work to break a press we haven’t seen in a few games. The Spartans held up with the help of a good press break call and the efforts of Brooke Sponsel, Stella Weiss, Shelby,  and Sophia to get open and keep the guards out of trouble by being available for down-court passes. This was more evidence of the girls learning to count on each other. Most of the scoring was done down low. Brooke added 4 points; Shelby and Stella each added two. The big shot came from Sophia with her first three-pointer that was a no doubter. The half ended with the Spartans up 21-11.

The third quarter was when the girls decided to break things open. Dominant defense and a strong dose of Claire and Shelby scoring put this one away. Claire and Shelby both scored multiple times,  with Shelby knocking down a couple of jumpers and a put-back for 6 points in the quarter. Claire also went to work adding two baskets and two free throws for 6 as well. Brooke added 4 of her own and was cleaning up all the boards down low. The defense was solid all around, holding the Falcons to only 5 points for the quarter. The score was 39-16 going into the fourth.

The fourth was not what we have gotten used to from the girls. The game was well in hand, but the Falcons put together a little run. They had a couple of their girls get hot shooting and managed to outscore us for the quarter. They pressed most of the quarter and things got bogged down, and the Falcons played a very physical game for the last frame. We only managed 4 points as the final bit of scoring was Stella with a jumper and Allie with a drive to the basket off a nice screen from Sophia. The girls sent everyone home happy for the Thanksgiving holidays. The final score was 43-25 Spartans to run their record to 4-1 for the season.