Page Search
Stratford 52 vs. Klein Forest 8
The SBISD Sub-Varsity Tournament continued Friday with the Spartans taking on the Klein Forest Eagles in the first of two games. The girls had no problem from the tip to the final buzzer, overwhelming the Eagles in all facets of the game.
They dominated on defense and offense for the entire game, holding the Eagles to eight total points and tallying 52 points of their own. Some of the highlights of the game were as follows:
Stratford 31 vs. Magnolia West 33
Both teams came into the final game of the evening unbeaten in pool play. This was the most evenly matched team the Spartans had seen in a while, as the Mustangs had good size, skill, and speed. It was a dog fight from the beginning to end.
The first quarter started off quick with the Mustangs jumping out early with a couple of baskets. Allie Moss answered back with two buckets and the teams battled for every point. The signature defense of the Spartans was on full display as both teams struggled to score. Sophia Prejean, Brooke Sponsel, and Shelby Thibodeaux continued to grab rebounds and work to control the paint. Shelby knocked down two baskets underneath to keep things close. Stella Weiss came off the bench to add a spark, driving in the lane to get to the line and knock down three free throws. Zoe Thompson, Aniyah Cunningham, and Allie made life tough on the Mustang guards, but the quarter ended with the home team down 10-9.
The second quarter saw the Mustangs really tighten down the defense as their guards really started to pressure the ball, and the Spartans had to work through a press most of the quarter. The girls fought hard, but points were hard to find. Allie and Shelby each added a basket as the Spartans could only muster 4 points for the quarter. Stratford went to the half down 18-13.
The third quarter saw the Spartans make a run at the Mustangs. The defense stayed solid, but both teams were able to open things up a bit. Sophia and Zoe were both able to get paid off on all their defensive work and dropped a basket apiece. The Spartans then found their hot hand in the form of Stella and her aggressive drives in the paint. Magnolia didn’t have an answer as she tallied 10 tough contested points and brought the girls all the way back to take the lead into the fourth quarter, 27-26.
The fourth quarter was close all the way through with both teams trading the lead. Stratford was able to get off some good shots, but unable to get much to fall. Allie drove the lane for a score to finish with 8, and Stella added one more as well to finish with a game high 15. With little time left, the girls inbounded under our own basket and just couldn’t get the last shot to fall. The final was 33-31 Mustangs, and Stratford would play Waller for the third-place game on Saturday.
Stratford 49 vs. Waller 22
The Spartans, coming off their first loss in eight games, were ready to start a new winning streak and finish strong in the tournament. The Waller Bulldogs brought a good team, and the Spartans would have to play hard to take this one home.
The first quarter was both teams trying to break through, but again points were hard to come by for both squads. One reason that the Bulldogs couldn’t score was great team defense, but a great deal of their struggles came when Sophia Prejean decided she would personally try and block every shot the Bulldogs attempted in the paint. If you ask Waller, they will say she probably did. The scoring was done by Shelby Thibodeaux on a nice put-back. Stella Weiss added a bucket, and Sophia dropped one as well. The first quarter ended 6-5 Spartans.
This game would follow the winning script as Stratford used the second quarter to open a nice lead. Again, the defense was stellar as Zoe Thompson, Brooke Sponsel, Aniyah Cunningham, Abigail Williams, and Madeline John all took their turns helping to keep the Bulldogs at bay. Sophia continued to block shots and make life generally miserable for Waller in the paint. The scoring then came in bunches as Allie Moss got hot and dropped a three, and then followed with 6 more points for the quarter, ending with 9. Shelby got two nice scores as well. Stratford led after two, 20-9.
The third period saw Waller show some fight and make a run. They were able to finally get things going and tally 11 points in the quarter. The momentum shifted back to Stratford when Sophia had two Bulldogs get free on a break with just her back in the paint. She managed to block three consecutive shots to shut them down on her way to 13 blocks on the night. Zoe then got in on the scoring, adding 3 for the frame along with a Sophia three-pointer and a Stella drive for two. Allie stayed hot with a couple of free throws, then back-to-back steals and drives to the basket. She added one more for the quarter to finish with a game high 17 points. The Spartans led 36-21 with the game well in hand.
The last quarter the girls only gave up one point to Waller and closed things out. They added some more cushion to their lead as Stella dropped four more points. Phoebe Heidel drilled her first three-pointer. Shelby, Zoe, and Ginger Koss each added 2 points to close out the Bulldogs and finish up a good tournament with the third-place win, 49-22. The girls ran their record to 8-2 going into District play on Tuesday against Cy Fair.
Stratford 50 vs. Cy Fair 20
The Spartans opened District play at The Cy Fair Bobcats on Tuesday evening. Coach Dixon didn’t change the formula for winning and the girls delivered. This team plays swarming defense, which leads to lots of scoring opportunities.
The fast-start trend continued as Stratford jumped out to a quick lead as Claire Kadane hit a layup and a three-pointer. Cy Fair had good speed and a solid post-game that tested our defense early. The Bobcat’s plan was to get the ball down low and score on the inside. Sophia Prejean did a nice job neutralizing the Cats’ best post player, frustrating her into several bad shots. Shelby Thibodeaux, Brooke Sponsel, and Stella Weiss did a nice job of grabbing the boards and keeping the other post at bay. Allie Moss, Zoe Thompson, Aniyah Cunnigham, and Claire also made the interior passing for the guards difficult, which caused multiple turnovers, and Cy Fair had to abandon what they wanted to do. The defense held Cy Fair to 4 points for the quarter. The scoring came as Stella used her signature driving step to the basket for 4 points. Brooke also added a bucket on a great pass from Zoe. The girls led 11-4 after one.
Stop me if you’ve heard this, but the second quarter is when the Spartans like to step on the gas and open big leads before half. Tonight, would be no different. Madeline John, Ginger Koss, Phoebe Heidel, Allie, Zoe, Claire, and Aniyah continued to pester the Cats. Sophia and Shelby added a couple blocks, and along with Brooke, dominated the rebounding. The entire team’s effort held the Bobcats to two points for the period and 6 for the entire half. Stella went to work in the paint, hitting shots and drawing fouls on her way to 5 points, including a “and one” from the line. Zoe stole the ball multiple times, adding 4 of her own. Shelby and Brooke got paid off for the work they were doing in the post, adding a basket a piece. Allie drove to the hole and got to the foul line to add two free throws. Going into half, the rout was 26-6.
The third quarter was more of the same. The defense was solid, and the balanced scoring continued. Some defensive standouts were Aniyah, who shut down two fast-breaks with great hustle, and Shelby, who continued to grab board after board in the paint. Stella continued to work the interior, adding 4 more for a game high 14 points. Sophia, who had worked hard all night to eliminate the Cats' biggest threat got on the board with a bucket, and then threw a great pass to Allie underneath the basket and she was able to finish it off with a short jumper. Zoe added another bucket off a steal, and Brooke put back a rebound to close out the scoring for the third. Going to the final frame, the lead was 38-13.
The last quarter was just keeping things going and finishing up the job. The Cats did score a few off a good press early in the quarter, but the Spartans answered and extended the lead to win by 30. Claire got things going with a couple of scores on her way to 9 for the game. Shelby and Sophia both added a bucket, as well as Brooke on a great double move underneath. Ginger grabbed a rebound and closed things out with a jumper. The relentless defense, ball movement, and teamwork was the story of this one as the Spartans opened District with a big win on the road 50-20.