Slow start proves costly as Lady Tigers fall to Bruins

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers dropped a non-conference game to Twin Falls last Thursday, 63-41, in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium in Mountain Home.

Mountain Home, which was without its leading scorer, Selena Foster, who was out of town for the Christmas holidays, started slow and trailed 22-6 after a quarter. It was part of a 20-0 run by Twin Falls that hit 26-6 early in the second quarter.

The Lady Tigers then had an 8-0 run to come within 12 at 26-14. It was 33-17, Twin Falls, at the half.

Mountain Home rallied to within nine, 40-31, in the third quarter, but the Lady Bruins got their lead back to double-digits and led 48-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

Twin Falls had its biggest lead, 60-37, midway through the fourth quarter, and went on to a 63-41 win.

"That first quarter really killed us," said Coach Keener. "What was it, 22-6? That's a big deficit, obviously, to battle back from. We didn't really protect the basketball very well against their pressure.

"We did better after the first quarter. We got within nine there in the third quarter, but couldn't get it under nine, and then free throws -- we sent them to the line way too many times."

Whitney Sandberg and Jacci Cristobal led Mountain Home in scoring with eight points apiece. For Sandberg, it was a new season high. Marissa Streeter and Madi Karst both added seven points, Tessa Pachner scored six, Tracey Gordon three and Mattie Bennett two.

Mountain Home shot 37 percent from the field and just one of six on three-point shots. They went to the free-throw line 25 times, but only converted 12 of them.

Twin Falls shot 41 percent from the field, and made one of three treys. They were at the charity stripe 35 times, converting 24.

The Lady Tigers fell to 3-9 on the season. They are 3-5 in conference and start the second time through the conference schedule this week, hosting Emmett on Thursday, Jan. 3, and traveling to Columbia on Friday as part of a girls-boys doubleheader with a 6 p.m. start time.

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