Lady Tigers beat Apache to win 5th game in 6 tries

STERLING — Sterling’s Lady Tigers ended the first half of the season with a resounding 54-29 victory over Apache while claiming their fifth win in the last six games.

Sterling started fast outscoring the Lady Warriors 14-2 in the first quarter. At one point, the Lady Tigers went on an 8-0 run while shutting down Apache’s offense.

“I thought we played pretty good,” Sterling head coach Jennifer Garner said. “We caused a lot of turnovers, we shot the ball better and our defense kept them from scoring, so we were alright.”

Sterling senior Emma Nunley led the Lady Tigers with 19 points, 14 of which came in the first half. The Lady Tigers went on a 7-0 scoring spree to end the first half with a 29-9 lead as Nunley and Morgan Curry accounted for all seven points.

Sterling continued to increase its lead in the third quarter by outscoring Apache 13-8 and bumping its advantage to 42-17. During the third quarter, Sterling knocked down three three-pointers, including two from Shelby Spence and another from Curry. Curry also drained another trey midway through the final quarter.

Spence finished the game with 10 points followed by Curry with nine.

Sterling’s only loss during the last six games came against Hydro-Eakly who defeated the Lady Tigers 52-35 in the finals of the Geronimo tournament. Hydro-Eakly is ranked No. 12 in Class A while Sterling, 9-3, is unranked.

Sterling’s other two losses have come from Chattanooga, ranked No. 18 in Class B, and Cyril which is ranked No. 5 in Class A.

The Lady Tigers return to action Jan. 3 at Fletcher followed by the Black Diamond Tournament Jan. 5-7.