By RICHIE HALL
SHERIDAN – The expectations are high for the Sheridan girls basketball team this year.
The Blackhawks return several players from last year’s history-making team, one that won the program’s first-ever regional title and came within an overtime period of reaching the final four in Class 2A. Sheridan began its season Monday by playing at Carroll and ran away from the Cougars in the fourth quarter, winning the game 44-24.
On Tuesday, the Hawks played their first home game of the season by taking on traditional powerhouse Lebanon. Sheridan again broke loose after a tight first half, outscoring the 3A Tigers 20-5 in the third quarter on its way to a 53-30 victory.
“We’re excited about it,” said Blackhawks coach Jaidlin Bradshaw. “We were a little nervous playing back-to-back nights to open the season up, especially with traveling to Carroll last night. It’s a long drive, and then turning back around and hosting Lebanon here tonight. Both Carroll and Lebanon are always super aggressive, physical games for us. I was just glad the girls were able to match that intensity and energy.”
The Cougars had Sheridan down 12-10 after the first quarter. The Hawks were able to edge ahead 18-17 by halftime, then began to roll in the second half. Sheridan led 27-21 after three quarters, with Kenzie Garner scoring eight points in that period, including a pair of 3-pointers.
The Blackhawks then soared through the fourth, outscoring Carroll 17-3. Garner scored 14 points, while Cecilia Timme had eight points. Both are coming off solid fall sports season, with Garner playing volleyball and Timme playing soccer.
“They don’t ask for time off,” said Bradshaw. “They’re ready to transition right into the next thing. I think too, having successful sports seasons has really helped the girls to be excited to come in and have a good winter sport season as well.”
Back home at Larry Hobbs Hall, Sheridan outscored Lebanon in each of the four quarters. The Blackhawks led 13-8 after one, then went into halftime with a 23-16 advantage. Garner scored 13 points in the first half.
Sheridan turned up the defense in the third period, outscoring the Tigers 20-5 for a 43-21 lead. Garner added another eight points, with Nova Cross and Timme both scoring four.
“Sometimes they just need to regroup,” said Bradshaw. “I feel like we get a little frazzled sometimes with a bunch of different things, so it’s nice to see them be able to regroup at halftime and come out and then implement what we talked about.”
Garner finished with 24 points, while Timme totaled nine.
Sheridan has a week off, then plays at home again next Tuesday, welcoming Brebeuf Jesuit. The Blackhawks will be getting more attention this season as they try to make another post-season run, but Bradshaw mentioned that her team now has the experience of knowing they can make that run.
“It’s certainly like a blessing and a curse, because it’s pressure, but it’s a good kind of pressure,” said Bradshaw. “We have high expectations and we’ve always, as a staff, had high expectations for our girls. But now I think they know that they can do these things, and I think it’s just a whole another level of pressure and scary and exciting and awesome all at the same time.”
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