FORT HALL — With 3:30 remaining in the opening quarter, Rockland’s Savanah Farr stole a Sho-Ban pass and went in for a layup.

    As the basket went through the net and Farr came down she slipped and her left knee buckled as she went down to the floor. As she was helped off the floor, the Bulldogs had a 15-5 lead over the Lady Chiefs with Farr scoring seven.

    “When she went out of the game we lost our momentum,” Rockland head coach Vern Nelson said. “She has done something similar to her other (knee) before playing volleyball and was sore for about a week.”

    Farr sat out until the third quarter.

    On Sho-Ban’s next possession, a new weapon emerged that Rockland seemingly had no answer for.

    Blackfoot transfer Shayla Johnson made her impact on the game, not only shooting the basketball but also defensively as she helped Sho-Ban pull within one point in the third quarter.

    But Rockland’s defensive pressure and rebounding proved to be the difference, as Rockland defeated Sho-Ban 65-48 Wednesday at Sho-Ban High School.

    With the injury to Farr, Rockland needed another player to step up in her absence.

    Jessie Bott was the first player to step up as she scored six consecutive points to extend the Bulldogs’ lead to 21-9. In the second quarter, Kelsey Glenn  stepped up, scoring seven consecutive points to build the lead to 30-13.

    Trailing by 17, Sho-Ban did not give up as freshman Johnson scored the first seven points of the half, ending 9-0 to send the Lady Chiefs into the locker room trailing 30-22.

    “We knew she was shooting and we told whoever was guarding her that they needed to stay with her,” Nelson said. “But even with people in her face she was making shots.”

    As the Lady Chiefs were making their comeback in the second quarter, it was evident that Rockland’s defensive pressure from earlier in the game had disappeared. Nelson noticed it too, and addressed it with the team during the halftime break.

    “We came in the third quarter and were still not as intense as I would have liked us to be,” Nelson said. “It took getting us into a full court press to get our defensive intensity back.”

    Before Rockland put on the press, Johnson and the Lady Chiefs quickly cut the eight point halftime lead down to one at 38-37 with 3:22 left in the quarter.

    But Sho-Ban was never able to get over the hump and take the lead and that was in part to Farr, who returned earlier in the quarter and dominated in the post the remainder of the game.

    Farr scored 11 of her 26 points in the final 11 minutes of the game and most of those came from the free throw line.

    “Savannah has been a rock for us all season,” Nelson said. “She is the type of player that if I had four more we would never lose a game.”

    All of the free throws came from the height advantage that Rockland held over Sho-Ban. The Bulldogs were able to outrebound the Lady Chiefs and get easy put back baskets or draw fouls.

    “We did a good job on the glass tonight” Nelson said. “We were able to fight for the loose balls and score off of our hustle. I just wish we could have done a little better from the free-throw line.”

    Farr led four Rockland players with 26 points. Kelsey Glenn added 16 and Jessie Bott and Mesa Farr each chipped in 10 points.

    Johnson led Sho-Ban with a game-high 28 points. Savannah Sequints added eight and Kyree Callahan finished with six points for the Lady Chiefs.

    Rockland (4-5, 2-2 1A DII) does not return to the floor until Jan. 5. Sho-Ban travels to Clark County on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.