The Heritage Christian Academy girls’ basketball team caught fire after halftime on Monday night, turning a four-point edge at the break into a 52-21 victory over the visiting Fort Campbell Lady Falcons.
After scoring only 15 points in an opening-night loss to Ballard Memorial, the Lady Warriors appeared headed for another low-scoring night early on against the Lady Falcons.
Leading 4-3 after the first quarter, Kate St. Martin opened the second with a three-pointer for HCA. The Lady Warriors led by as many as eight after Hallie Zieg connected from behind the arc, but the Lady Falcons scored the last four points of the half, including a layup by Charlize Cruz, to go to the locker room with a 13-9 score.
Fort Campbell cut the margin to three on a jumper by Cruz, but HCA answered with an 11-0 run capped by a Rachel Robson three-pointer to take control. Craft finished her 12-point quarter with the final four points of the frame to give the Lady Warriors a 31-14 advantage.
The Lady Falcons closed to within 12 points after a three-pointer by Arianna McDaniel with two minutes played in the fourth, but they would only score a single point the rest of the way.
Heritage Christian closed the game on a 20-1 run, with Zieg and St. Martin combining for 15 down the stretch.
Craft led all scorers with 17, followed by Zieg with 15 for HCA. The Lady Warriors shot 4 for 28 in the first half before bouncing back with a 14 for 33 performance in the second. They finished 8 of 21 from behind the arc and won the rebounding battle 34 to 28.
Including a pair of wins over the weekend in the KCAA Holiday Classic, the Lady Warriors have won three of their last four overall and even their KHSAA record at 1-1. They hit the road on Tuesday to face Christian Fellowship.
Fort Campbell slips to 0-2 and will return to the court on Friday with a matchup at St. Mary.
Fort Campbell 3 6 5 7 — 21
Heritage Christian 4 9 18 21 — 52
Fort Campbell (0-2) — Cruz 8, McDaniel 4, Scott 4, Managan 3, Southard 2
Heritage Christian (1-1) — Craft 17, Zieg 15, Robson 9, St. Martin 9, Cherry 2
