Spartans girls basketball shines in win against Sammamish Redhawks
The Skyline Spartans girls basketball team soared past the Sammamish Redhawks with a commanding 72-41 victory on Friday, improving their season record to 9-7.
The Spartans started the game with promise when they not only won the tipoff, but immediately drained a three-pointer thanks to a quick shot from Amy Edwards. The Redhawks quickly answered with a 2-point shot that was met with a pair of threes from Skyline. Refusing to back down, Sammamish hustled on defense, snagged a steal and added a few buckets to the scoreboard, closing the gap to 15-9.
Skyline’s Kate Reinkensmeyer caught fire with back-to-back layups to open the second quarter. Sammamish struggled to score outside of the occasional free throw, prompting a timeout and a brief pep talk from the Redhawk sidelines. Despite the mid-quarter break, Skyline remained undaunted, dominating with fast breaks and sharp shooting to build a double-digit lead, 33-23, by the half.
Energized from the break, the Spartans continued to maintain control and dominate as Natalie Culver electrified the crowd with multiple buckets, leading the Spartan charge in the second half. The Redhawks scrambled to respond, but were plagued by sloppy turnovers and missed opportunities, managing most of their points from trips to the charity stripe. Keeping their head in the game, Skyline held onto their lead with an additional 19 points in the third quarter for a 52-30 Spartan advantage.
Unwilling to reduce the pressure in the final quarter, Chloe Hatch came off the bench for Skyline, firing with pinpoint accuracy for back-to-back 3-pointers. Following a quick timeout, the disheartened Redhawks struggled to respond, seemingly accepting their fate. Adding insult to injury, the Spartans continued to drain threes with ease as the clock ran down. With their best point total of the game, Skyline dominated with an additional 20 points in the last period, driving home a 72-41 victory.
The Skyline Spartans will play the Newport Greyhounds at Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7:00 p.m. at Newport High School in Bellevue.
