LONGMONT — Apparently, fast starts are the Raptors’ niche.
The Silver Creek girls basketball team obliterated an opponent in the first quarter for the second consecutive night Saturday, this time taking the wind out of Niwot early in a 64-21 win.
Paced by 23 points by Jordan Carter and 14 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks from frontcourt mate Teagan Knechtel, the Raptors (6-3, 2-0) took immediate control of the 4A Northern League game by outscoring the visiting Cougars 22-2 in the first.
It came on the heels of a 23-2 first-quarter outburst Friday night against Mountain View in a 67-23 victory.
“In the first quarter of the game we want to make sure we’re pressing hard and running the floor really well,” Knechtel said. “We wanted to take the same attitude as last night and put it into this game.”
Of all the ridiculous combined two-night stats, these two most tell the story: The Raptors outscored their two opponents 45-4 in the first quarter and 131-44 overall. Remarkably, Silver Creek did all that damage without the benefit of a 3-pointer in either game.
“In a lot of ways this was a carbon copy of Friday,” Silver Creek coach Dan Kloster said. “We did many of the same things, and it’s good to know we can repeat that back-to-back. We’re consistent and we’re being disciplined enough to run our offense and make sure things work.”
Kloster’s lone complaint from Friday night was that the taller Raptors were lazy at times boxing out. He lauded the improved effort against the Cougars.
If there was one consolation for Niwot (4-7, 0-2), it’s that eight different Cougars scored. No one had more than four points, however. The Cougars were getting blanked 20-0 until Monica Pilewskie’s jumper from the elbow with 1 minute, 54 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
The Cougars, who fell at Greeley Central in their league opener Friday night, were trailing 33-4 at the break. But with an abundance of size and length, Silver Creek appears to be a squad that’s going to create mismatches on a nightly basis.
“It feels really good,” Knechtel said. “I think this is going to boost our confidence a little bit and make us work harder to beat the other teams in the league.”
Silver Creek will aim to keep it going Tuesday at Centaurus while Niwot will look to get back on track the same night at Longmont.
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Silver Creek 64, Niwot 21
At Silver Creek HS
NIWOT (4-7, 0-2)
Hannah Sarosi 1 1-2 3, YY Chen 1 0-1 2, Alyssa Jenkins 1 0-1 2, Laila McCaffrey 1 2-4 4, Jami Albert 1 0-0 2, Jenna Edwards 0 0-0 0, Keena Strope 1 0-0 2, Moica Pilewskie 1 0-0 2, Emily Mericier 1 2-4 4. Totals 8 5-12 21.
SILVER CREEK (6-3, 2-0)
Mikayla Litt 1 2-2 4, Heidi Stauss 1 3-5 5, Jordan Carter 9 5-5 23, Teagan Knechtel 6 2-2 14, Kayla Noble 1 1-2 3, Viloet Kennedy 3 2-2 8, Miranda Salo 1 0-0 2, Jaymie Ackerman 0 1-2 1, Jadyn Dewitt 0 0-0 0, Danielle Berning 2 0-0 4. Totals 24 16-20 64.
Score by quarters:
Niwot 2 2 7 10 — 21
Silver Creek 22 11 15 16 — 64
3-point field goals — Niwot (0); Silver Creek (0). Total fouls — Niwot 14, Silver Creek 20. Fouled out — Kennedy, Knechtel.
