Don’t like the way the Phoenix are performing? Wait a minute. The next wave of high pressure is sure to hit, in the form of two or three substitutes who hit the floor and impact the game without any hint of a drop-off.

When shots didn’t fall, Spruce Mountain’s depth and defense didn’t falter Wednesday night in a decisive 48-22 MVC verdict over Oak Hill.

“If one comes out, there will still be the same intensity when the other one comes in,” said junior Nicole Hamblin, who finished with six points, six rebounds and four steals.

Hamblin was one of seven Phoenix (2-0) with at least four points.

Kailee Newcomb coupled her team-high nine points with four steals. Samantha Richards added eight points, six points, three steals and three blocked shots. Vanese Barnes scored all seven of her points in the third quarter. Alex Bessey chipped in six.

And the beat went on with Emily Hogan, Emily Keene, Amia Pelletier, Ladesta Tracy and Amanda Castonguay making significant contributions off the bench.

“It’s a luxury,” Spruce Mountain coach Gavin Kane said. “We feel very comfortable going 10 deep, and over the course of the season that will be beneficial to us.”

Richards’ two layups and Hogan’s 15-footer from the corner provided all the Phoenix offense in a frosty first quarter.

Spruce Mountain didn’t let down at the other end, however, with Richards’ six-foot athleticism causing problems down low and the aggressiveness of Barnes and Bessey smothering the Raiders outside.

Oak Hill (1-2) committed seven turnovers and went 2-for-16 from the field in the first quarter.

The Phoenix awakened with eight unanswered points, including back-to-back buckets off steals by Newcomb and Hamblin, to make it 20-8 with 2:47 left in the half. Keene, Pelletier, Newcomb and Richards all scored during the run.

“It’s nice to have everyone being able to contribute and do their part,” Newcomb said.

Two Bessey free throws and another Hamblin steal leading to a Tracy basket produced a 24-10 halftime margin.

Oak Hill never got it back to single digits. Hamblin, Richards and Bessey scored six points in a 32-second surge, expanding the lead to 20.

Barnes began the quarter with a steal and a layup and finished it by putting back her own miss for a 40-16 edge.

“That’s been the trend with us early in the season. We play a little tentative early on, and then we come out in the second half and get after it much more aggressively on the defensive end,” Kane said. “That’s what we need to do. When we don’t shoot the ball that well, we’ve got to create opportunities off our defense and get some scores in transition.”

Brianna Mulherin led the Raiders with six points, all in the second half. That total also matched Oak Hill’s high-water mark in any period.

Danielle Samson and Sadie Goulet furnished four points apiece for Oak Hill, which shot 9-for-38 (24 percent) and gave it away 35 times.

“When we came out from halftime, we realized our effort and our intensity needed to be picked up,” Newcomb said. “We had to get the game moving a little bit. As a team I thought we all worked really well to get our intensity up, and as soon as we did that we started to get a lot more breakaways.”koakes@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link