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Hermleigh’s Aaliyah Sneed (20) battles for rebound position against two Westbrook players during Tuesday’s 81-44 win.
HERMLEIGH — The Hermleigh Lady Cardinals never let up against Westbrook in Tuesday’s District 12-1A basketball game.
The Lady Cardinals built an 11-0 first-quarter lead and defeated Westbrook 81-44.
Hermleigh (24-0, 6-0), which has a one-game lead on Ira, will play at Borden County Friday and conclude the regular season Tuesday by hosting Ira.
“We started the game with great energy and communication on defense,” Hermleigh head coach Grant Gooch said. “It let us score a lot of easy baskets. We responded well and put in new wrinkles on offense and defense. The players executed everything to perfection.”
The Lady Cardinals kept the pressure on and outscored Westbrook 28-12 during the second quarter to take a 53-21 halftime lead. Hermleigh increased its lead to 71-33 going into the fourth quarter.
“The girls who came off the bench played like starters,” Gooch said. “We played better than the game earlier this season at Westbrook.”
Brishaya Sneed scored a game-high 24 points for Hermleigh. Aaliyah Sneed had 15 points and Kiki Gonzalez added 13 points.
“It came down to execution and good rotation on defense,” Gooch said when asked about the difference from the first game at Westbrook. “We performed better in all phases of the game. We want to continue momentum. We don’t have pressure on us and met every challenge so far. We need to stay relaxed and keep playing.”
Gooch said the only advantage of being the No. 1 seed is the first-round bye.
“We will go to Borden County and finish with Ira,” Gooch said. “Every game is the most important at this point of the season. There is not a great difference from being a first or second seed, but we prefer to be a top seed.”
Westbrook 9 12 12 11—44
Hermleigh 25 28 18 10—81
Hermleigh scorers — Brishaya Sneed 24, Alliyah Sneed 15, Kiki Gonzalez 13, Morgan Digby 9, Lilliyan Digby 7, Amanda Long 5, Kami Smith 4, Kelsey Digby 2, Sandra Carr 2.