Strong 4th Quarter lifts Sterling over Smoky Valley

    The Sterling Black Bears did not have their best night offensively, however it mattered
not as a stingy defense along with an offense that came alive in the fourth quarter lead the Lady Bears to a 58-40 win over the Lady Vikings of Smoky Valley. Taya Wilson and Camille
Schweizer of Sterling who scored 14 points and 12 points respectively; paced the Bears early to a 17-11 lead after the first quarter.
    The Bears cooled off in the second quarter as Amanda Behanna of Smoky Valley(12 pts), along with Haven Sjogren(7 pts) and Bri Franklin(8 pts) kept the Vikings in the ballgame, shrinking the Sterling lead to three at the half; the score 28-25.
     In the 2nd half, Grace Rowland and Aniston Ramsey who had 11 points each, helped the
Bears extend the lead back to six; Jordan Otto of the Vikings helped keeping the game at
reachable length, into the 4th quarter, the score was 40-34. In the fourth period, a pressing Black Bear squad forced some quick turnovers and capitalized quickly extending their lead into double digits, and kept the lead thanks to shooting 22/29 as a team from the free throw stripe. The press   combination along with stellar free throw shooting helped lead the Bears to a final score of 58-40