Saints basketball sweeps visiting Dragons

EDWARDS — The Saints boys and girls basketball teams both won against visiting De Beque on Friday night, as neither trailed for a single second of either game. The boys won, 90-32. The girls won, 73-31.

Raitt came out of the game with 6:30 left in the fourth quarter, ending with 35 points and setting the school record for most points in a game, surpassing his good friend Sug Ellsworth’s 34 in a game last season.

“It’s fun, but we have a good team and they were just giving me the ball,” Raitt said. “They could of beat the record, too, if they wanted to. They were just generous enough to let me.”

Ellsworth scored 34 points against De Beque on Feb. 21 in a 93-31 Saints win, holding the record for less than a full year.

Raitt and the Saints came out with aggressive defense that turned to offense, as Raitt ended the first quarter with 11 points.

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“He was just very relaxed on offense. He didn’t force anything and his shot was just really smooth,” coach Sheldon Kuhns said. “It just happened. It wasn’t something we set out to do at the beginning of the game, maybe he did.”

The boys, who remain atop the Gore League at 4-0, didn’t allow a single field goal in the second quarter against the Dragons, taking a 51-12 lead into halftime. The Saints seem to be hitting their stride.

“I think we hit it at the end of December, and I was worried we wouldn’t get it back after the break,” Kuhns said. “It’s all starting on defense. They’re having fun and that’s the way it should be.”

The offense was clicking with efficient passing opening up easy looks. The first score came after four different Saints touched the ball, eventually leading to Alex Davis finding an open Logan Raitt under the hoop for the 2-0 lead.

The Saints defense also opened up the transition game. In the second quarter, Raitt stole a Dragons pass at midcourt and passed it up to Sebastian Moritz for the lay in. Soon after, Moritz returned the favor with a steal of his own setting up Raitt for the layup and the 32-10 lead two minutes into the quarter.

The usual suspects also contributed, with Bryan Trujillo showing off his finger roll skills, and Ethan Kuhns, Davis and David Cabellero helped alter shots and clean the glass.

With the lead built, freshmen Alex Hilty, Kellen Kinsella, Jack Powers and Michael Gorla logged varsity minutes while sustaining the lead through out the second half. Junior Kedrick Kinsella also played valuable minutes, scoring seven points. However, he couldn’t get his younger brother to pass on a fast break, who rather finished it himself. Powers eventually found him streaking to the basket in transition.

LADY SAINTS Roll

The Lady Saints (6-4 overall and 2-2 in the Gore League) came out hot against the visiting Dragons (3-6, 2-3), thanks to an aggressive full-court press by the defense.

Jessie Raitt, Jessica Hartley and Remy Beveridge smothered the opposing offense before halfcourt, intercepting passes and forcing turnovers along the way.

Raitt stole a pass and moved it to Marti Schmidt under the hoop for a layup and an 8-2 lead for the Saints. On the following possession, Beveridge got the steal and passed it up to Schidmt, who found Kass Baker for a layup and the 10-2 lead less than two minutes into the game.

Schmidt, who had the first eight points for the Saints, was in foul trouble after an offensive foul early in the second quarter, and she also turned the ball over a few times on travel calls, although one was flailing around on the floor with a loose ball.

“Marti is doing awesome,” said coach Beth Raitt. “She takes everything very personally and seriously. So she always looks at the bench and asks, ‘Am I OK?’ She just has to get past that, and I think she will. She’s been maturing since last year.”

It was a fast-paced game with lots of turnovers, which comes with extra running up and down the court. The Saints bench picked up where the starters left off, with up tempo defense and team offense.

Freshman Sarah Heredia filled the stat sheet with steals, assists as well as points, and if there was a stat for single-handily beating a full-court press, then she’d have that checked off, too.

Morgan Calton showed she’s not afraid of contact on defense, fighting for loose balls and irritating the Dragons, and Maddy Friel scored a basket 10 seconds after entering the game in the fourth quarter.

Seniors Susan Vanderveer, Brittney Bossow, Coco Spangler and Emma Haynes also kept up the pace for the Saints. Haynes and Spangler had quick hands on defense and stayed in good possession, forcing turnovers and nearly drawing charges.

Barbara O’Brien also scored for the Saints and grabbed a rebound.

The Lady Saints play next at home against Gore League opponent North Park on Jan. 23 before traveling to Soroco on Jan. 28.

“Soroco’s a big one, but we have North Park first,” Raitt said. “They’re always tough in different ways.”