ROGERS -- Rogers used a suffocating defense to get some separation a little instant offense from junior Kate McConnell to take command against Huntsville in high school girls basketball on Monday night at King Arena.
The Lady Mounties held Huntsville without a field goal for eight minutes and just two over the second and third quarters combined en route to a 57-30 victory.
Girls
Rogers High 57, Huntsville 30
Huntsville 9 2 9 10 — 30
Rogers 14 10 15 18 — 57
Huntsville (1-2): Thomas 8, Drewyer 7, Sisk 6, Sulffridge 5, Bennett 4.
Rogers (1-0): McConnell 11, Brockhoff 8, Cates 8, Hatch 7, Treadwell 5, Figenskau 4, Story 4, Carr 3, Grimes 3, Risenhover 2, Larkin 2,
Rogers (1-0) grabbed a 24-11 halftime lead, allowing just two Lady Eagle free throws in the second quarter. Huntsville (1-2) missed all eight field goal attempts and made just 2 of 8 from the free-throw line in the quarter.
Rogers coach Preston Early credited good preparation for the solid defensive performance.
"I think our kids were really prepared and coach (Lauryn) Sbanotto did a great job with scouting," Early said. "And then I think it's a characteristic of this team. I think we're pretty scrappy. I think that's big and it allowed us to separate.
"The mistakes we made were early season things whether we fouled too much or turned it over. All of them were want to type deals. We're wanting to make plays, those are the kind of things will live and kinda grow through."
The Lady Mounties never trailed after the first four minutes, also struggled to score at times. But McConnell, who finished with a game-high 11 off the bench, gave Rogers a scoring spark late in the third quarter to take command.
McConnell hit three 3-pointers in a little over a minute to end the quarter, putting together her own 9-2 run to give the Lady Mounties a 39-20 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. She was the only player in the game to reach double figures, adding a rebound bucket in the fourth quarter.
Early was pleased to see McConnell get going, after struggling some with her shot during a benefit game last week.
"She's so capable of doing that," Early said. "She puts a lot of pressure on herself. She needed to see the ball go through the hole. It's kinda like a weight off her shoulders. The kid's done a lot of work. We need that from her."
Sophomore Nadyah Cates and Camiran Brockhoff added eight points each for Rogers. Madisyn Thomas led Huntsville with eight points.
Boys
Rogers High 56, Huntsville 31
The Mounties held the Eagles without a field goal for almost 10 minutes to open the game and cruised to the season-opening win.
Rogers led 16-3 after one quarter and didn't allow a field goal until Huntsville's Slayter Watkins hit a 3-pointer with 6:09 left in the second quarter to get the Eagles within 19-6.
The Mounties led 29-14 at halftime and 48-23 after three quarters. They used solid defense to get a lead, but got offense with the perimeter. Seven different Mounties combined to hit 10 3-pointers Drew Miller led Rogers with a game-high 11 but he was the only Mountie in double figures as 10 Rogers players scored.
Kent Mayes led Huntsville (2-1) with 10 points, while Beau Whelchel added nine.
Farmington 65, Van Buren 56
Jaylen Montez poured in 26 points to lead the Cardinals to the win.
Will Pridmore also chipped in 19 for Farmington, which led 29-18 at halftime.
Sports on 11/20/2018