Cardinals win against unhappy campers
The Big Valley basketball teams gave the Happy Camp Indians a dose of Cardinal passion on Friday, Feb. 3, and the Indians didn’t seem too happy about it.
The varsity boys were the first to take down Happy Camp with 86-49 on the board at the game’s end. Michael McCrary was the high scorer of the game with a total of 23 points raked in. Wyatt Schmitt was close behind with 22 points under his belt.
The Lady Cardinals were next to play the Indians. The performance was astonishing, to say the least. By the end, Big Valley had more than doubled the Happy Camp score with 63-28 on the board.
The Cardinals were quick to succeed right off the bat. By the end of the first quarter, Big Valley had secured an eight-point lead with Happy Camp struggling to keep control of the ball. The Cardinals entered the second half on the high end of a 25-11 score.
Quarter three was the greatest success for the Lady Cardinals as they swooped in and caught 21 points to nearly double their halftime score. The Indians had a hard time advancing on their score. By the end of the third quarter, 17 points on the board were in their favor.
The final quarter was the most impressive show out of the Indians. Happy Camp gained 11 points to total their tally at 28. Big Valley gained 17 points throughout quarter four and finished with 86 points in total.
Mikenzy Frye was the top scorer with 20 point, all of which were two-point field goals. Savanna Miller brought in 19 points with three three-pointer and two of four attempted free throw. Haylen White scored 11 points with three of five attempted free throws.
The Indians ended up following the Cardinals on their journey back to the Big Valley nest. A rematch game was played on Monday, Feb. 6. The Cardinals sent the Happy Campers packing after the girls won 63-24 and the boys won 86-45.
The Lady Cardinals were first to take on the Indians in the rematch game. Initially, Happy Camp declared the game a challenge for Big Valley as quarter one was called with 10 points favoring the Indians and 18 favoring the home team. With only an eight-point lead, the Lady Cardinals received the message loud and clear that the Indians meant business.
Unfortunately for Happy Camp, their bark is worse than their bite. With a pinch of rehydration for the Cardinals, Big Valley bumped up their defensive play and only allowed the Indians to advance their score by three points by the end of the second quarter.
Happy Camp continued its poor point gain streak with three in quarter three and eight in the final quarter. In contrast, the Cardinals scored 17 points in quarter three and another 16 in quarter four.
When all was said and done, the Lady Cardinals won the game with an overwhelming lead of 39 points.
Frye was the top scorer again with 23 points in total; she hit 10 two-point field goals and one three-pointer. Miller scored 14 points with two three-pointers and two of two attempted free throws. Morgen White scored 12 points.
The next rematch with the Indians was handled by the boys.
With a final score of 86-45, the Cardinals reassured the Indians that the first game was not a result of luck alone.
Top scorer McCrary bumped up his previous point tally to 32 points. Schmitt scored 18 points to bring the combined total up to 50 of the 86 points gained by Big Valley.
The Cardinals still had fight in their feathers after the Happy Camp game, so the Dunsmuir Tigers tested their luck against Big Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 7.
Junior varsity boys finally had a chance to play their hand on the court and ended up using their pent-up energy to destroy the Tigers 39-27.
Top scorers for the junior varsity Cardinals were Yamir Moya with 13 points, Noah James with six points and Kyle Hurd with six points.
Next on the court were the Lady Cardinals with the same passion as the two previous games. The ladies ended up winning with a final score of 51-43.
Frye scored 16 points and Miller scored 14 throughout the home game.
The varsity boys ended the night with the greatest win of 82-62.
The three-win streak for both the varsity boys and girls has done nothing but prove the power behind the flock.
The next game for the Cardinals was on Thursday, Feb. 9 against Butte Valley.
