THOMAS – Who’s next?
Enter the court at your own peril against Soda Springs (12-0, 1-0 2A District 5), which is riding a 38-game winning streak after dominating 3A Snake River 58-40 on Thursday on the road.
In a flash, the Cardinals took control of the game. Soda Springs faced a 7-4 deficit before going on 14-4 run in the final four minutes of the first quarter and cruised from there.
“They’re playing good defense and getting the shots we want,” Soda Springs coach Wade Schvaneveldt said. “We pass the ball well. Most of our scores are assisted, so that’s a good thing. So I think it’s a good overall team effort every night.”
The Cardinals’ three multi-year starters combined for 41 points, with Sadie Gronning scoring 17, while Jorianne Balls and Reagan Yamauchi tallying 12 apiece.
Entering a midseason break in action, Soda Springs’ first perfect season in the IHSAA era looks attainable.
The Cardinals are not only winning, but against good teams. They have already swept the defending 3A state champion Sugar-Salem and 2018 2A state runner-up Ririe, in addition to their decisive win Thursday against last season’s 3A state runner-up.
Their greatest achievement thus far came last weekend when they defeated Utah 6A schools American Fork and Cooper Hills and 5A Corner Canyon, which features five-star University of Utah signee Kemery Martin and University of Wyoming signee Jaeden Vaifanua.
“We’re all working together and getting stuff done,” Gronning said. “But we can still go up. We can’t settle for just beating a 6A Utah team.”
Gronning provided the spark in their latest win that began slowly for the Cardinals, who had two field goals in the first four minutes against the Panthers. The junior guard tied the game 7-7 with a 3-pointer before accounting for four of the next seven points on drives to the hoop for layups to put her team ahead for good.
Soda freshman Nelly Pelayo knocked down a triple off an inbounds pass to increase the lead to double digits, 26-16, with about three minutes remaining in the second quarter. Shortly after, Snake River (7-4) answered with a 2-pointer, but the Panthers did not score again until there was 4:30 left in the third quarter, which allowed the Cardinals to increase their lead to 20.
“Soda is a very good team,” Snake River coach Jeff Steadman said. “They don’t have any weaknesses, and so seemed like any time we made even a small mistake, they were able to take advantage of it. They play extremely well together, and they’re probably the best team we’ve seen this year.”
The Panthers have lost four of their last five games after starting 6-0. For the second consecutive game, Snake River struggled against full-court pressure, which Soda sprinkled in throughout.
The Panthers miss graduated point guard Kelsey Higginson, the 2017-18 3A Player of the Year. But their lone returning starters did their best against the Cardinals, as Josee Steadman scored a team-high 17 points and Abby Morgan added 13.
Snake River will receive a nine-day break in action for much-needed recuperation. The Panthers are coming off games against the defending 2A and 3A state champions and have had seven games and six practices in the last 14 days.
UP NEXT
Snake River hosts Ririe on Dec. 29, while Soda Springs returns to 2A District 5 play on Jan. 3 at Bear Lake.
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