Hastings hosted Morton Ranch in the second half of District 18-5A girls basketball Monday night and improved their record to 21-5 overall, 5-3 in district with a 45-25 victory.

The Bears came out in the first quarter and did what any coach hopes their team does, shut out their opponent. Hastings scored 12 points in the first quarter and didn’t allow Morton Ranch to score until 6:28 was left in the first half.

“When you shut somebody out in the first quarter and you don’t commit any fouls, you can’t really expect much more than that,” Hastings coach Bob Wall said.

The Mavericks scored their first point after Tierra Dixon was fouled and made one free throw shot. Leading by 11, Hastings’ Garkeiva Council increased the Lady Bears’ lead to 20 when she hit three three-point shots in a row. Hastings continued to dominate the first half, holding Morton Ranch to only nine total points and keeping their 20-point lead.

“We held them to single digits in the first half,” Wall said. “Our goal was to be able to do that in the second half, but when you have a 20-point lead, one of the most difficult things to do in coaching is to motivate somebody to keep doing the same thing when you have a big lead.”

Wall was right. Although the Bears maintained a monster lead over the Mavericks, it never got larger than 20.

“We didn’t let up, but we didn’t improve,” Wall said. “But a win is a win.”

The third quarter slowed down a bit for Hastings as they only scored six points but they also only allowed six points.

The Lady Bears will face district power Cinco Ranch later this week. The Cougars have won 45 straight district games.

“We’re going to do what we’ve done all year long,” Wall said. “This is one season where we aren’t worrying about our opponent and we’re preparing ourselves.”

Hastings’ lead scorers:
Garkeiva Council 17
Epiphany Smith 14

Morton Ranch’s lead scorers:
Laura Anderson 10
Peyton Crump 5

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