Believe it or not, King’s Way Christian’s girls basketball team had the underdog label Thursday.
At least, that’s what second-year coach Randy Graves wanted his team — the 1A Trico League leaders and now winners of eight straight games — to believe.
Why? Because that’s what they’re accustomed to in years of trying to climb the Trico ladder.
Be an underdog, and act like an underdog, senior Tyra Schroeder said .
“And believe in ourselves,” she added.
Underdog, no more, though. King’s Way’s 59-36 home victory Thursday over Stevenson solidified the Knights as the league’s premier team. The Knights (12-6 overall, 7-0 league) can clinched at least a share of the Trico crown with a win at Seton Catholic Saturday.
In a league that’s been dominated by La Center the past four years, King’s Way now has a two-game lead on second-place Stevenson (12-5, 5-2) with three games remaining from an undefeated league season.
Thursday, is just the start of what’s to come, players say.
Senior Hannah Moats scored a team-high 13 points and Schroeder added 11 to help keep the Knights unbeaten in league with three regular-season games remaining.
Normally not known for her scoring, Moats broke out of her shooting slump that plagued her last game to shoot 5 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range in the second half. Her corner 3 midway through the fourth quarter gave the Knights their largest lead at 57-29.
As a team, King’s Way drilled nine 3s.
Thursday, redemption came to mind for Moats after Tuesday’s struggles.
“I have to keep reminding myself one shot doesn’t determine my play,” she said. “I just have to keep going.
And she did.
Eleven of her 13 points came in the second half as a spark off the bench.
Defense, though, is what Graves, the second-year coach, continues to preach. His Knights are allowing 28 points per game — tops in the Trico. The coach called his team’s performance the best all season “top to bottom.”
And at times, it looked easy. Steals leading to transition points helped the Knights build a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter and a 10-0 run sparked the first 4:19 of the second to build a 20-point advantage. King’s Way led by as many as 57-29 on a Moats 3-pointer. Stevenson, led by Katie Rathgeber’s nine points and eight from Ashley Brannan, got as close as 13 to begin the second half.
King’s Way hasn’t dropped a game since late December and at one point this season, had lost six straight after three wins to start the year. Now, it’s on the cusp of perhaps an undefeated league season and a No. 1 seed heading into districts.
“We don’t know where our peak is yet,” said Abby Cummins, who chipped in nine points Thursday, “but we haven’t hit a peak.”
