By Rob Potter
ELDRED — December 21, 2010 — The Eldred Lady Yellowjackets didn’t waste much time in taking the lead on Thursday night when they faced the visiting S.S. Seward Lady Spartans in an Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division V basketball game.
Just seconds into the contest, Eldred senior guard Kim Elvin stole the ball from a Seward player near midcourt. Elvin then sprinted to the Eldred basket and made a layup while being fouled. She made her free throw to give the Lady Yellowjackets a 3-0 lead with 7:40 remaining in the first quarter.
With 7:01 on the clock, Lindsey Dunn scored a basket in the lane to bring Seward within a point at 3-2. But that was as close as the Lady Spartans would get for the rest of the evening as Eldred kept extending its lead to record a 68-30 victory.
After Dunn’s basket, the Lady Yellowjackets responded with a 17-4 scoring run to close out the opening period. Senior center Sage Owens had five points in the run, while Elvin and senior forward Meaghan Hazen each had four points during the run.
Eldred (2-2, 1-0 Div. V) then outscored the Lady Spartans 15 to 4 in the second quarter to take a commanding 35-10 lead at halftime.
Not surprisingly, Elvin, Hazen and Owens finished the game as the Lady Yellowjackets’ top scorers. Owens recorded a game-high 22 points and six rebounds, Elvin netted 19 points and made seven steals and Hazen had 16 points and eight rebounds.
In addition, sophomore forward Kayla Kelly grabbed nine rebounds for Eldred.
“I liked the way we played defense tonight,” Eldred Coach Jolene Porter said. “We played great defense. Our defense created scoring opportunities for us, especially in the first half. And on offense, we passed the ball to open players to get good shots.
“It was great that everybody got in the game and had a chance to play,” Porter added.
Gladys Loyas scored a team-high 13 points for Seward (2-3, 0-1 Div. V).
“It was tough once Eldred took the early lead,” Seward Coach Joe DiMattina said. “We used some different defensive combinations to try and slow them down.
“I told my players that we are going to use this as a learning experience,” he added. “We’ll treat it like a practice and an opportunity to get better.”
DiMattina noted that three Lady Spartans missed the game due to injuries. Sara Cannello is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee. But the veteran coach is hopeful that Ally Morgan and Raaquel Thomas will soon return to the Seward lineup.
“I am very proud of our seven players tonight,” DiMattina said. “They played hard the entire game and never quit.”