CUMBERLAND — Fort Hill entered Thursday’s game winless on the season against No. 1 Mountain Ridge who only has one loss.
Despite the difference in records, the host Sentinels put up a valiant effort in the first half. However, 25 unanswered points from the Miners was the difference in a 55-24 victory.
“We came out and were kinda sloppy,” Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. “Our offense didn’t flow the way I’d like it to flow. But we saw some good things, we were moving the basketball, just weren’t finishing plays.”
In Mountain Ridge’s (8-1, 2-1 WestMAC) previous game on Tuesday against Shalom, Snyder broke her own school record with six 3-pointers, finishing with 22 points.
In the first half, the Sentinels (0-8, 0-3 WestMAC) defense held Snyder to five points while shooting 1 for 4 from 3-point range.
“They were just constantly watching where she was at,” coach Snyder said. “They did a really good job making sure she wasn’t getting open looks. I think we panicked at times, not continuing to flow with the offense.”
Containing Snyder, along with limiting points off turnovers, were two big reasons why Fort Hill stayed in the game for most of the first half.
The Miners recorded seven steals on defense before the break, however, none resulted in points on the other end.
Two possessions off of steals ended in turnovers, and two more resulted in missing at least two shots.
“I think we were playing a little jittery at times,” coach Snyder said. “Playing a little too fast instead of slowing ourselves down. Once we slowed ourselves down, it started changing and transitioning into the second half.”
Mountain Ridge led 10-6 after one quarter.
Fort Hill cut the deficit to 13-11 with 3:53 left in the first half when Nevaeh Bunbasi set up Lindsay Fleming for a 3-pointer.
That would be the Sentinels final score of the half, as the Miners scored 10 unanswered points to take a 23-11 halftime lead.
Neither team shot well in the first half. Mountain Ridge went 7 of 26 from the field (27%) and Fort Hill was 4 of 18 (22%).
“I think we were settling, we weren’t making that extra pass,” coach Snyder said. “We took the first shot we had. I kept telling the girls, you’re gonna get that shot later on in the shot clock if we make five or six passes. A lot of times, they make that pass, see they’re somewhat open and take that shot.”
Reghan Sivic led all scorers with 10 points in the first half for the Miners. She finished with 14 overall, two assists and a steal.
The Sentinels committed 16 turnovers in the first half including 10 in the first quarter. Mountain Ridge committed five in each quarter.
The Miners opened the second half with 15 unanswered points, led by Snyder.
She took over for Mountain Ridge in the third quarter, scoring 13 points with two steals and two assists.
“She finally got a couple open looks,” coach Snyder said, “Once she knocked down a couple shots, she’s not gonna miss many of those.”
Snyder finished with a game-high 21 points, eight steals and five assists.
She entered the game 32 points away from surpassing 1,000 points for her career. She is now 11 points from becoming the fifth player in either boys or girls basketball to do so at Mountain Ridge. Three girls and one boy have surpassed 1,000 points.
“It says a lot about her teammates and the way they’ve been able to get her the basketball,” coach Snyder said. “She’s just had awesome teammates that set her up and get her opportunities to be in that position. We gotta give them credit for what they’ve done.”
Snyder hit a 3-pointer off a Sivic assist to extend the Miners lead to 37-11 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.
It capped off a 25-point run between the second and third quarters and lasted nine minutes and 23 seconds of game time.
With 2:27 remaining in the quarter, Karter Marshall ended Fort Hill’s drought with a free throw.
It was also the Sentinels’ only point of the third quarter as Mountain Ridge led 44-12 after three.
Fort Hill outscored Mountain Ridge 12-11 in the fourth quarter. Fleming hit a pair of 3-pointers and Nevaeh Bunbasi also connected on a triple.
Fleming led the Sentinels with nine points, all on 3-pointers. MaeLeigh Plummer added seven points and two steals.
Kealana Pua’auli scored six points with five steals, five assists and a block for Mountain Ridge.
“She plays strong, she plays hard,” coach Snyder said. “She plays with so much effort and intensity. She can guard the post, play anywhere from 1 to 5 in the area. I love the effort she gives us.”
Fort Hill hosts Hancock on Friday at 7 p.m. and Mountain Ridge hosts Northern on Monday at 7 p.m.