Sandoval puts up 22 as Hawks roll

DONNELLSON — The mistakes and jitters that can come with a season opener can easily be overcome with energy, as Central Lee’s girls basketball team proved in Tuesday’s 52-24 win over Holy Trinity.
Asked what she liked about the first victory of the season, Central Lee coach Taylor Hickey said, “Oh, man, it was our intensity. It made us a little bit there at the end get into foul trouble. But, like we just said in (the locker room), that was an exciting game with us being aggressive on the defensive end, and that's what we had to be. That's what we have to do this year, is be aggressive on the defensive end.”
An 8-0 run by the Hawks to start the second quarter — actually, it was an 8-0 run by Kenna Sandoval — helped give Central Lee control of the game. Sandoval had four consecutive baskets inside to put the Hawks up 19-8, and then a 6-0 run to close the half gave them a 27-13 lead.
“Kenna did an amazing job on the boards,” Hickey said of Sandoval, who finished with 22 points, 14 of those coming in the first half. “And I think that also reassures the shooters to shoot the ball when you're open, because you’ve got someone down there that's gonna be strong, powerful, and get your rebound.”
Hickey said the Hawks talked before the game about being relaxed.
“They can be hard on themselves, when they start missing a shot or they do something, make a mistake. One of our keys on the board was, ‘Everyone makes mistakes. You’ve got to keep moving.’ Our word, when we broke out today, was, ‘Together.’ We all have each other's back.”
The game was an education for the Crusaders as well, who have a young roster.

“We played four freshmen who haven’t even had a minute of (junior varsity) time,” Holy Trinity coach Shawn Hopper said. “It’s a trial by fire this season, and they know that.
“The first half got away from us because we didn’t box out. If we hadn’t given up so many offensive rebounds in the first half, it’s a different game at halftime.”
That physicality, Hopper said, was a lesson for his young players.
“It’s different than going against each other for three weeks in practice,” Hopper said. “I’m sure they’re going right now, ‘Wow, that’s a little different than I thought it would be.’”
Elizabeth Griffin and Olivia Bendlage each had six points for the Crusaders. Nora Lampe added 14 points for the Hawks, and Taylor Jones had eight.
The season had just started.
“We’ll be OK,” Hopper said. “It’s going to take us a while to get where we need to be, but eventually we’ll get there.”
“We’ve got to shore up a lot of things,” Hickey said. “But it was good to get that first win.”