The Booneville Lady Bearcats matched a Bearcat athletic program best start with the 16th win to start a season when they dismantled the Cedarville 49-18 Thursday.
They did so by scoring the first 15 points of the game and remaining in cruise control the rest of the way.
The 16-0 start to a season matches the 16-0 of the 2001 baseball Bearcats who followed their first loss with another seven game winning streak that included regional and state titles.
Heaven Sanchez, the leading scorer for the Lady Bearcats this season, scored the first points of the night after a steal, but she played only sparingly after the opening minutes and did not score again.
That shifted the scoring role to Leigh Swint and Joleigh Tate (shown) and they responded with 16 and 12 points respectively. Swint also pulled down seven rebounds before spending the final quarter with an ice pack on an ankle.
Swint had seven points in the game opening run – Layla Byrum also had a 3 – and had the last four points of the opening half for the Lady Bearcats.
Those came after a five minute drought following a driving shot off the glass by June Gandarias.
Swint scored five points in the first 4:05 of the second half and it was 28-10.
That was in the midst of an 18-0 run that got the lead to the sportsmanship level at 41-10 on a basket by Tate with 7:25 to play.
Tate had 10 of her 12 points in the run that pushed the Lady Bearcats to 6-0 in Conference 3A-4 play.
The rest of the way it was Linley Garrett taking a couple of passes from Brooke Turner and another from Gandarias to score .
Lady Bearcats 49 Charleston 31
The Lady Bearcats started the week on Tuesday with a win over Charleston, ending a 10-day idle stretch due to COVID-19 protocols.
The Lady Bearcats built a double digit first quarter lead as Layla Byrum, Joleigh Tate, Leigh Swint and Heaven Sanchezs scored a combined 14 points.
The lead reached 14 behind a couple of buckets from Hayley Roberts and another Snachez basket but a 3 at the first half buzzer had Charleston within 20-9.
Roberts had two more baskets in the third quarter after Sanchez hit a 3 and it was 27-9 with 5:33 to go in the quarter. The Lady Tigers were no closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Sanchez scored a game-high 18 on the night but was the only Lady Bearcat in double figures. Roberts had eight to go with her nine rebounds, Lexi Franklin scored seven, and both Tate and Byrum chipped in six points with Tate adding seven rebounds.
The Lady Bearcats will look to become the school’s first 17-0 team when they host Cossatot River on Tuesday night.
LADY BEARCATS MATCH SCHOOL BEST 16 GAME WIN STREAK TO START SEASON
