The game started about as one would have expected based on the standings going in with the Cardinals jumping out to an early 6-0 lead over the Bears thanks in large part to going 6 for 6 from the free throw line to start the game. Things looked early on to be Soda Springs business as usual as the top team in the conference was off and running but Bear Lake found a charge behind them as the 1st half went on going on quite a run that at one point gave them a 16-12 lead over the cardinals late in the 2nd quarter showing quite a bit of fire and heart in the surge against one of the premier teams in the state.
Things however would not be sustainable for the Bears, Soda Springs would find their grove behind a masterful performance from 6 foot senior Jinettie Garbett who decided to really take over from that 16-12 point in the game. Her rebounding and post dominance led to a bombardment of 17 consecutive points for the Cardinals and by that point even once Bear Lake found a way to hit a free throw and stop the scoring streak it was already too much of a deficit to overcome.
The Cardinals kept their late momentum in half number one going into the second half of the contest and ultimately pulled away to a 53-25 victory in front of a packed, completely full gym full of Soda Springs faithful. The atmosphere was electric as several Bears fans made the journey down the road for the game on top of the packed student-section for the Cardinals that was there, you could feel the energy from both sides every time the momentum would swing one way or the other and was one of the most fun and exciting high school basketball atmospheres I have ever been a part of.
For the Bears, this drops the girls team record to 2-11 on the season which is certainly not where they would like to be but it was another very good game from Saydee Shaul as the sophomore guard showed off some excellent post moves and was able to draw several fouls through excellent drives to the net all game through a far taller Cardinals defense that couldn’t find a way to outright stop it for most of the game. Tayzley Neal also had a solid day on the offensive end as the 2 sophomore guards did their best to keep the offense going even as the game was starting to get away in the 2nd half.
The Bears will try to get some momentum on their side this Wednesday as they take on the Aberdeen Tigers in Aberdeen on the Wave, be sure to catch that action live here on SVI.
