Spring Creek’s Trinity Daniels attempts a first-quarter free throw against Midway Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Sara Kirby attempts to keep possession of the ball while Midway’s Peyton Herring, right, and a teammate defend during fourth-quarter play Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Midway’s Kyleigh Stonerock (20) gets her shot blocked from behind by Spring Creek’s Emily Williams while fellow Gator Trinity Daniels defends on the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Midway’s Ella Clark (23) drives to the basket against Spring Creek’s Vanessa Duruttya during first-half action Wednesday evening in ‘The Swamp.’ (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Heather Alexander and Midway’s Peyton Herring collide on a rebound during early-game action Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Sometimes you struggle to find the rhythm, especially when you’re blending new faces on the hardwood.
Five games into the varsity girls’ basketball season, Spring Creek continues to discover its beat.
“Sometimes out there we go through moments where we look like the little kid that just got his first drum set for Christmas … it just isn’t good,” Gators head coach Paul Hayes said. “But, then we go through times where we are talking and moving the ball, looking like sweet jazz music where we are just flowing together.
“That’s when we are playing our best basketball.”
Spring Creek finally found its harmonic blend against Midway in the second half Wednesday evening. Sophomore Kiarah Pearson knocked down 12 points and Trinity Daniels added 11 during a 39-19, non-conference victory in “The Swamp.”
The opening half sounded like a “clunker.”
Sloppy play on both ends of the court resulted in a 4-3 Midway lead after one period. Daniels’ 3-pointer off Emily Williams’ assist pushed the Gators in front for good, 13-12, late in the second period.
Pearson converted a steal into a layup and drained two free throws, which extended Spring Creek’s advantage to 17-12 at halftime.
“We need to come out with more energy … came out a little flat,” Hayes said. “We’re still learning how to play as one [team]. It’s coming, but we’re still learning each other. When it does click, it looks like we’re going to be all right.”
Spring Creek kept control 24-16 after three periods.
Communication, ball movement and a diet of steady hustle to loose balls turned the sour-sounding affair into a symphony of bliss.
Williams and Pearson spearheaded a 10-0 run to start the fourth. Williams buried a 3-pointer off an assist from Vanessa Duruttya. Pearson drained a 3-pointer and hit a short runner on the baseline off Williams’ assist.
Aaliyah Kornegay’s layup off Pearson’s assist capped the surge.
“We had to get better space and we had to get better movement,” Hayes said of his team’s fourth-quarter charge. “We got a little stagnant where we were just standing around waiting for somebody else to make a move [offensively].
“We knocked down some shots.”
Duruttya’s 3-pointer off Daniels’ assist and Williams’ layup increased the lead to 20 as final quarter wound down. Williams finished with seven points, five steals and four rebounds.
Kornegay registered six points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Duruttya pulled down four rebounds, while Heather Alexander contributed seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
“We settled down in the second half … good to get a win,” said Hayes, whose team improved to 4-1 overall after a season-opening loss to Union.
Midway could never develop an offensive flow.
The Raiders (1-4) made just three field goals in the final 16 minutes of regulation and shot a woeful 1 of 13 (7.6 percent) from the free throw line. Kara Pearson paced the offense with seven points, while Kyleigh Stonerock collected four points.
SC athletics director Troy Smothers said today’s home game against Hobbton has been postponed. The Gators begin a six-game road swing Dec. 15 at Union.
