Gaels too tall for Sierra Vista

Nick Christensen

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005 | 9:48 a.m.

Shooting 7-for-21 from the field isn't any team's ideal way of playing a first quarter. Of course, when you're Bishop Gorman and your opponent makes seven field goals in the entire game, bad shooting is easily forgiven.

So it was Wednesday as the Gaels girls cruised to another easy division win, this one an 82-28 victory at Sierra Vista.

Gorman made up for the poor shooting in the first eight minutes by going 12-for-19 from the field in the second quarter, turning a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter into a 45-11 advantage at halftime.

Gorman wound up shooting 31-for-61 from the field.

"When we come out flat, without a lot of energy, we tend to shoot poorly," Bishop Gorman coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. "Once we picked it up, we played incredible defense, got it going and took advantage of what we do well."

Kaila Mangrum, a Bishop Gorman forward who led all scorers with 20 points, said she didn't know what caused the sluggish start.

"I just don't think we had any energy at first, then we picked it up," she said.

Two key factors kept the Gaels from falling behind in that first quarter -- rebounding and defense. Gorman's players combined for six first-quarter offensive rebounds, and their swarming defense allowed Sierra Vista just eight field goal attempts.

It was bench play at the start of the second quarter that kicked off that impressive Gorman run.

Mangrum said the Gaels' depth is one of the key components of this year's team.

"The players off the bench do just as well as the starters," she said. "Today they brought us a lot of energy. It makes a big difference in how we play."

Sierra Vista was also faced with a significant height disadvantage, something many teams playing Gorman this year are facing.

"Ashley Gayle, (Lauren) Hoisington and Kaila Mangrum are 6-4, 6-2, and 6-foot. We have the tallest kids in the city," Krmpotich said. "We should be able to play the post well."

Mangrum agreed, saying she expects the Gaels' inside play to be what sets the team apart, with league playoffs now a month away.

"Our team, it's a big team this year. We don't think anybody in the city can hang with our post game, our rebounds and putbacks," Mangrum said.

They also keyed in on the Mountain Lions' leading scorer, forward Alex Cox, who finished the game with just nine points.

The onslaught continued in the second half. Gorman outscored the Mountain Lions 21-10 in the third quarter, and Sierra Vista could muster just five more points in a foul-plagues fourth quarter.

Sierra Vista plays at Spring Valley on Friday, while Gorman's next game is a home date with Bonanza.