Emily Richards, right, battles a Damonte player for a groundball.
Oasis Academy’s Lady Bighorns lacrosse team came back from their defeat against Galena to crush Damonte Ranch at home 12-2.
The match opened with back-to-back goals by Oasis’s Brooklynn Whitaker and Sadie O’Flaherty in the first minutes. O’Flaherty scored a third goal a minute later, then Whitaker scored a fourth after that. Oasis had 5-0 before the Lady Mustangs made it on the board halfway through the first half. The Lady Bighorns maintained their defensive and offensive pressure until the first half closed 7-2.
Oasis continued to dominate the field in the second half, scoring three goals in the first five minutes. Goalie Madison Whitaker played well her first time in the position, saving 13 shots.
“She did a phenomenal job,” said Oasis coach Lisa Swan of Whitaker’s performance. “There were 15 shots on the goal and only two got through; and really, the two that got through were when we had a bunch of our players and theirs right around (the goal) so she couldn’t see.”
The coach said she was happy to see the team’s groundballs had improved from last game — she had noted them as an issue at the time. She said the players could still make improvements, but they were doing much better.
“I’d still like them to be better,” Swan said. “Groundballs win games.”
The coach said they also had strong starting power each play, hitting 80 percent for controlling possession when the ball was dropped. She said the “middies” also ran a good defense with dodges and creating screens for other players to take shots.
O’Flaherty led the team in goals, scoring six. Brooklyn Whitaker was also a high scorer with three. Swan said Kenna Hamlin, a new player to lacrosse, scored her first goal as well. O’Flaherty was named the Lady Bighorns’ offensive MVP and Madison Whitaker was named defensive MVP.
There were also four assists, which made Swan happy since it showed good teamwork. The coach also commended her players’ long passes. She recalled they were throwing the ball on target and the receiving player would catch it smoothly — during one play, Madison Whitaker saved a shot, then sent the ball flying right into Brooklynn’s stick on the other side of the field.
“I had a lot of parents compliment me on that,” Swan said of the team’s passes.
Tuesday the Lady Bighorns played the McQueen Lady Coyotes in Reno though results were unavailable at press time. This Saturday they play Bishop Manogue at home at 10 a.m.