Both squads struggled on offense, turned the ball over plenty of times and had trouble finding a comfortable rhythm.
However, someone had to win and it was the Lady SaberCats who walked away with a 34-23 win.
The only time Vela trailed in the game was early in the first quarter when the Lady Hawks took a 4-2 lead on back-to-back baskets by Mikaela Flores.
From that point, however, it was all Lady SaberCats.
The Cats’ defense held the Lady Hawks to just the four points in the first period and just six in the second.
Meanwhile, the Cats’ offense got contributions from six different players, including Kayleen Rios and Emma Villarreal, who each scored four in the first quarter. At the half, Vela led 20-10.
In the second half, Vela pulled away as the Lady Hawks’ offense continued to struggle.
South did a fairly good job on defense as they forced numerous turnovers. However, the offense simply couldn’t convert as Vela opened up a 28-16 lead at the end of the third.
The Lady Hawks also did a good job of getting to the free-throw line as Vela committed plenty of fouls. However, South was extremely inefficient at the charity stripe, hitting just 6 of 22 shots.
“We definitely need to work on our free throws,” said Lady Hawks head coach Kelly Garrett. “We also need to work on our defense. But we didn’t quit and played until the end.”