By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
SAND ROCK – The Sand Rock Lady Wildcats held Hokes Bluff scoreless in the second quarter and without a basket in a little over half of the third on their way to a 65-18 basketball victory Tuesday night. It was Sand Rock’s home opener of the 2023-24 season.
“I was pleased with our defensive effort tonight,” head coach Lisa Bates said. “I thought we were aggressive and looked tough. I think we look a little bit stronger this year, a little bit more solid.
“We missed too many shots. We had a lot of offensive rebounds because we kept missing and putting it in, but I’m pleased with our effort and our chemistry right now.”
Katelyn St.Clair led the Lady Wildcats (2-0) with 21 points, including four 3-pointers. She also had seven rebounds and five assists. Zoey Handy accounted for 16 points, seven rebounds and five steals.
Chloe Stephens contributed 10 points and four assists. Kennedy Henderson collected nine points, nine rebounds and four assists.
The Lady Wildcats built a 21-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter and cruised to a 39-5 lead at the break. Sand Rock led 48-5 halfway through the third until Pressley Wall ended the Lady Eagle scoring drought with a 3-pointer. Wall and Mazley Ball both connected on a pair of treys and finished with seven points to lead Hokes Bluff.
In the nightcap, Noah Johnson netted 16 points to lead Hokes Bluff’s boys to a 52-31 victory.
Landon Davenport delivered 15 points, including three treys for the Eagles. Anthony Gooch sank four 3-pointers and had 12 points. Tucker Hill finished with six points.
Hokes Bluff built an 18-10 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 25-19 at halftime. The Eagles went on a 16-2 run in the third to take a 41-21 advantage.
“We’ve got to make shots,” Sand Rock first-year head coach Nick Traffanstedt said. “This was our second ball game and we’re getting in the groove of things. We’ve got some young kids out there and we played a really good (first) half, but with young kids, a lot of times it takes them time to learn how to finish those games. I believe they’ll get it done. It’s just a work in progress, but these young kids are playing their hearts out. They played hard and got after it tonight.”
Ty Traffanstedt topped the Wildcats (0-2) with 12 points. Cam Gifford rang for eight points. Gatlin Cox and Elijah Hood both finished with four points.
Both Sand Rock teams travel to Glencoe on Friday.
