MAKING PROGRESS

HOUSTON — After Kenai forward Raquel Young carried the Kardinals to a 19-point halftime lead, the Houston Hawks shifted their defense and focus to Kenai’s leading scorer during the final two quarters. And the strategy nearly paid off for Houston.

The Hawks allowed only nine Kenai points during the second half, but the Kardinals were able to hold on for a 42-31 nonconference victory over the Hawks Friday at Houston High School.

“They sat back in that very soft 2-3 zone, basically telling us to shoot the ball,” Kenai head coach Stacia Rustad said. “And we did, and we did not shoot the ball well at all.”

Young, who came into the game averaging a team-high 18 points per game, scored 15 of her 17 points during the first half.

“No question, she’s our go-to in the low post,” Rustad said.

After Young’s 15-point first half, the Hawks blanketed the Kenai standout with a pair of posts at any given time. Typically it was 6-foot sophomore Savanna James and 5-11 junior Savannah Ritter. The duo helped keep Young off the second-half scorebooks until very late in the fourth quarter, when Young went to the basket to with 1:02 left in regulation to give Kenai an 11-point lead.

Ritter and James also helped Houston hold Kenai to only five points in the third, four points in the fourth and 15 percent shooting during the final two quarters. Houston head coach Reese Everett said the Hawks did make some changes on the defensive end, but said hustle was the reason for the better play during the final 16 minutes.

“We didn’t really do anything different, we did change up our defense a little bit and went to more of a spread zone, and they missed some shots the didn’t in the first half,” Everett said. “But we kept that energy we had in the first half.”

Houston did trail 33-14 at the break, but Everett praised his players’ effort during the first half.

“I told them at halftime, even though we were down by almost 20, we had a lot of energy,” Everett said. “We’re a work in progress. We’re still pretty young. Our best players are the youngest players, but we’re working hard. I know if they have that energy, they’re going to battle for 32 minutes.”

Kenai used a 20-1 run midway through the first half to build that large lead. Allie McGahan and Lexi Beeson nailed three pointers during that stretch, but much of the offense was provided by Young in the paint.

“We played well in the second quarter,” Rustad said. “Actually, that’s about the only quarter we played well in. I’m not happy with our performance at all. We didn’t execute offensively or defensively. Kudos to Houston, they played a great game.”

While James stood out defensively during the second half, the sophomore also sparked Houston on the offensive end. James scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting. She also hit 2-of-4 three-point attempts, pulled down five rebounds and blocked three shots.

“Savanna James went ahead and decided to show what she’s capable of as a 15-year-old sophomore,” Everett said. “She was really the key that kept us in it.”

James scored seven of her team’s 10 third-quarter points and all seven of Houston’s points during the fourth. James followed a three-pointer with a lay-up at the 2:27 mark of the fourth to cut Kenai’s lead to seven, the Kards’ smallest advantage since midway through the first quarter.

“We gave ourselves a chance,” Everett said. “That’s all you can ask for.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Kenai 42, Houston 31

Friday, Houston High School

Kenai 16-17-5-4—42

Houston 8-6-10-7—31

Kenai (42) – Hull 2 0-2 5, McGahan 1 1-2 4, L. Beeson 3 1-3 8, D. Beeson 1 0-0 2, Wensley 2 0-0 4, Young 8 1-2 17; Totals: 17 5-11 42.

Houston (31) – Wagner 1 0-0 2, James 10 2-3 24, Acton 0 1-2 1, Ritter 1 0-0 2, Madrid 1 0-0 2; Totals: 13 3-5 31.

3-point field goals: Kenai 3 (Hull, McGahan, L. Beeson 1), Houston 2 (James 2); Total fouls: Kenai 10, Houston 11.