APACHE — Even with two weeks off and being short two starters, the Hydro-Eakly girls won the Slick Hills Invitational at Boone-Apache High School.
The Lady Bobcats defeated Big Pasture 77-19 Thursday, Friday, they defeated Geronimo 79-46 Friday and defeated Hobart 67-38 Saturday to win the tournament.
“I was really pleased with how we played,” coach Jeremy Tharp said. “We had a few practices, but did not have all the practices we usually would have, because of injuries and sickness. We are healthy now and am glad to see everyone step up. I was out two starters for the first two games, but the sign of a good team is when other girls can step up when we need them to.”
Hydro-Eakly 77, Big Pasture 19
Hydro-Eakly jumped out to a quick lead and was ahead 22-4 going into the second quarter.
The Lady Bobcat defense allowed two points in the second quarter, which helped Hydro-Eakly build a commanding 45-6 advantage at halftime.
The third quarter featured more offense from the Lady Bobcats, and they were ahead 65- 13 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the non-starters played and Hydro-Eakly won the game 77-19.
“This was the game where we felt like we connected everything together,” Tharp said. “We played really well and eight or nine girls scored, which makes it tough for us to defend.”
Katey Buss scored 16 points, Kira Berkey scored 14 points, Kenzie Rodriquez scored 12 points, Tessa York scored 11 points and Emily Sublett scored 10 points.
Hydro-Eakly 79, Geronimo 46
Hydro-Eakly did not allow a point in the second game against Geronimo until there was less than four minutes left in the first quarter. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 26-6 going into the second quarter. Hydro-Eakly did commit nine fouls in the first quarter.
Kira Berkey and Lotti Parker each hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the second quarter. As a result, Hydro-Eakly was ahead 57-25 at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Bobcats kept the lead and won the game 79- 46.
Kira Berkey scored 22 points, Parker scored 17 points and York scored 14 points. Tharp said it was awesome to see the girls step up and play, even though some of the starters got into foul trouble.
“The defense played well, but we just got into foul trouble,” Tharp said. “They dribbled around a lot and their main scorer scored 27 points. We did keep their second leading scorer who scored eight points, which was awesome. The best part of the tournament was having four girls average scoring in the double digits and our fifth girl scored nine points. This makes it tough for us to defend when we do get into foul trouble.”
Hydro-Eakly 67, Hobart 38
The game was close at the start, but Hydro-Eakly outscored Hobart 12-2 to end the first quarter, giving Hydro-Eakly the 18-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Hydro-Eakly maintained its lead in the second quarter and was ahead 31- 18 at halftime.
Hydro-Eakly was ahead 50-32 going into the fourth quarter. Rees Berkey scored 10 points in the third quarter.
Hydro-Eakly’s defense and only allowed six points in the fourth quarter. Hydro-Eakly won the game, 67-38 and were the champions of the Slick Hill Invitational.
Rees Berkey scored 17 points, Kira Berkey scored 15 points, York scored 12 points and Rodriguez scored 10 points.
“It is hard for teams to prepare for us,” Tharp said. “We played really well and we are beginning to pick up our rotations way better. We are not being as lazy and I was pleased with how Katy Buss played. She defended really well and York also had to play lots for us as well.”
Kira Berkey also scored 51 points in the entire tournament. Hydro-Eakly remains unbeaten on the season and improves to 13-0. They will play at Geary 6:30 p.m.
“We just have to fine tune our game,” Tharp said. “When we need a big play or to run a set play, we must execute it. It is just working on the little things right.”