LONGMONT — Deandra Elcock is a scoring nightmare when she gets going early, especially for visiting teams at Skyline High School.
Elcock lit up the Skyline gym from the jump on Friday night, shooting 3 for 3 from downtown in the first half and finishing with a season-high 21 points to lead the Falcons girls basketball team to a 52-31 win over the Frederick Warriors.
Afterward, Elcock said the Falcons (8-7, 2-5 Tri-Valley) told their coaches earlier in the week that they felt like they needed to get better at shooting and would like to practice it more.
“It brought my confidence up a lot,” Elcock said. “When I hit the first one, my confidence gets boosted up and I just keep going.”
Elcock’s hot shooting and the Falcons’ dominating the boards, led by Carissa Curtis’ nine, netted SHS a 20-point lead at halftime.
Elcock said she owed a healthy chunk of her points to 5-foot-11 sophomore center Naomi Barron, who finished with three blocks and five rebounds in limited minutes, and her ability to suck the defense inside and free Elcock up on the perimeter. Senior guard Allison Curtis chipped in eight points for the Falcons and sophomore center Alyssa Steed was a force in the post.
Having lost five of the first six games they’d played in 2013, Friday night’s win was an important one for the Falcons, who are looking to put together a win streak with a home-heavy schedule remaining. It also was their second Tri-Valley League win.
“It was a great win because it was hard for us to get going after break,” Elcock said. “We had a team meeting, we connected and it showed on the board today.”
The Falcons host Mead on Tuesday. The Mavericks started the Falcons’ new-year skid by beating them 52-40 on Jan. 4 in Mead.
If they want to turn the tables on the Mavericks, junior forward Courtney David said the Falcons will have to play the kind of defense that held the Warriors (6-8, 1-6) to 31 points on Friday night.
“We had really good help defense and that’s what we’ve been working on,” David said. “We were stepping off and helping when girls got by. We made sure they didn’t drive by us but also made sure they didn’t shoot too many from the outside. It just felt good to come together tonight.”
The offensive struggles continue for the Warriors, who are averaging 34 points per game during their current five-game losing streak. Senior shooting guard Makenzie Urban led them on Friday with 12 points, and scored 11 of their 15 total points in the first half.
Warriors sophomore point guard Alex Dufour added five points.
Adapting to a fourth-quarter move to guard after Urban and sophomore guard Jordan Sleeth fouled out and Dufour rolled her right ankle, junior forward Shyanna Neu finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
Neu said the Warriors’ recent woes stem from a loss of confidence since starting the season 6-3.
“Our shots just weren’t falling and that’s something I guess we’ll have to work on in practice,” Neu said. “We’ve been in a little drought.
Hoping to snap their skid, the Warriors will have a tough opponent next when they face 10th-ranked Windsor on the road on Tuesday.
The Warriors and the Falcons will meet again in both teams’ regular season finales at Frederick High School on Feb. 19.
Follow Brad on Twitter: @BradCochi
Skyline 52, Frederick 31
At Skyline HS
FREDERICK (6-8, 1-6)
Worley 0 1-4 1, Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Dufour 1 2-8 5, Neu 2 5-12 10, Haas 0 0-0 0, Urban 4 3-6 12, Sleeth 0 2-5 2, Reid 0 0-0 0, Garland 0 1-2 1. Totals 7 14-37 31.
SKYLINE (8-7, 2-5)
Zamora 0 2-4 2, Spencer 0 1-3 1, A. Curtis 3 1-2 8, Emanuel 0 2-2 2, David 1 0-0 2, Steed 1 2-2 4, Elcock 9 0-0 21, Barron 1 0-0 2, Robison 0 0-0 0, Quintana 1 0-0 2, C. Curtis 1 4-6 6. Totals 17 12-19 52.
Score by quarters:
Frederick 7 8 5 10 — 31
Skyline 13 22 10 7 — 52
3-point field goals — Frederick (3): Dufour, Neu, Urban; Skyline (4): Elcock 3, A. Curtis. Fouled out — Urban, Sleeth, David. Technical fouls — None.
