Sonora High School girls basketball remains undefeated in Freeway League play after dominating Sunny Hills 61-18.
Meghann Henderson began the game with 11 straight unanswered points for the Raiders (13-5, 3-0) in what culminated in a first quarter that ended in a 23-5 Sonora lead.
Throughout the opening quarter Sonora controlled the paint through Henderson on the bothsides of the ball and the tempo of the game through a very effective full court press that forced Sunny Hills (12-7, 1-2) to commit several turnovers.
Henderson did it all in the first quarter from converting shot after shot and making assist on one side of the court to getting blocks and steals on the other side of the court.
The Lady Lancers struggled to find open shots in the first quarter and didn’t score until over halfway into the opening quarter.
The second quarter only saw the Raiders lead grow even more,
Lainie James scored 8 straight points for Sonora to start the quarter.
The full court press was just as effective for Sonora as in the first quarter and continued to cause turnover troubles for Sunny Hills.
Constant double teams and plays to strip the ball from their opponent led to several points off turnovers for the Raiders.
The Lady Lancers were able to get a few more points on the scoreboard mostly through the free throw line, but the game was well out of reach by the middle of the second quarter.
James added five more to her tally of 8 by the end of the half, and Henderson added 6 more to have a total of 19 points at the half.
The Raiders came out with the same intensity in the third quarter that they did in the first half.
Steals, stops, and scoring plays were aplenty for Sonora, who went on a 11-0 run to start the final half.
Henderson, who led the team with 24 points, and Elizabeth yoshitake led the way for Sonora in the penultimate quarter with 6 points each.
As the fourth quarter began the tempo began to dissipate and few points were scored by either team in the final minutes.
Sonora will next be in Freeway League action when they visit Troy High School on Friday to take on the Warriors. Sunny Hills will host Buena Park High School on Friday.