Sheridan’s Brielle Garner scored 19 points, including five 3 pointers, for the Blackhawks during their win over Mooresville Christian on Thursday. (Richie Hall)
By RICHIE HALL
SHERIDAN – The veteran players on this year’s Sheridan girls basketball team were dealing with something unusual during the Blackhawks’ first couple games: not winning.
That’s understandable, considering the fact that last year’s Sheridan team lost two games the entire season, while winning 25 games, along with sectional and regional titles.
The Blackhawks dropped their first two contests of this season but picked up their first victory Thursday by cruising past Mooresville Christian 52-19 at Larry Hobbs Hall. Sheridan led 20-4 after the first quarter, then shut out the Eagles in the second period 16-0 for a 36-4 halftime advantage.
“It feels good, definitely,” said Hawks coach Jaidlin Bradshaw. “The girls even said something, they’re like, ‘It does not feel good to lose.’”
Instead, Sheridan felt good the entire game. Freshman Olivia Long dominated the first period, scoring 12 points, including a pair of 3s. Brielle Garner also made two triples during the first quarter, then threw in two more 3s in the second period.
Garner finished as the leading scorer with 19 points and five 3s, while Long scored 17 points. Bradshaw said Long “had an awesome game tonight.”
“Shot the ball well and she played good defense, which is what we’ve been asking her to do,” said Bradshaw. “She made good decisions with the ball.”
Sadie Timme hit a 3-pointer about 10 seconds into the third quarter, giving Sheridan a 39-4 lead and instituting a running clock for the remainder of the contest. Timme finished the game with eight points.
The Blackhawks played all 13 players listed in their scorebook, so Bradshaw said the team was “able to play a bunch of different combinations of kids together.”
“It’s nice to see who works well together and who’s playing well together and all that kind of stuff,” said Bradshaw. “I think it goes a long way for our freshmen and just learning the game and learning each other, for sure.”
Sheridan is 1-2 and plays again Tuesday at Frankton.
