Forty-four days into the basketball season, the Helias Lady Crusaders finally played a home game Thursday night.
They obviously enjoyed it.
Helias scored 35 points in the first quarter on their way to an 83-23 victory against the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Lady Tigers in Central Missouri Activities Conference action at Rackers Fieldhouse.
“I think not playing a home for so long, finally getting to play here got us a little excited,” Helias coach Garrett Wiggans said. “Not just to play in front of your home crowd, but to get to play where you’ve been practicing for 2½ months.”
Gallery: Helias Girls Basketball vs. Sedalia Smith-Cotton
The Lady Crusaders scored the first nine points of the game. After Smith-Cotton scored its first basket, Helias totaled the next 12 points to take a 21-2 lead with just under three minutes to go in the opening quarter.
It was a quarter full of passes with a purpose and good shot selection for Helias, which led 35-7 after the first eight minutes.
“If you want to be a good coach, you have to practice what you’ve struggled with,” Wiggans said. “In the holiday tournament, we struggled with our half-court offense and the transition game. That was a big point of emphasis in practice and the girls really executed well tonight.
“We’ve had some of the best practices we’ve had all season coming into this game and it showed.”
Ava Morris and Kenadi Harrison both scored in double figures in the first quarter.
Morris was 7-of-8 from the field and scored 15 points.
“This year, Ava’s been a lot more aggressive scoring the basketball,” Wiggans said. “And that takes pressure off of the other players. When you have five girls who can score, you can be very difficult to defend.”
Harrison hit a pair of 3-pointers on her way to 11 points.
“That girl can shoot,” Wiggans said. “She’s really stepping in and filling several shoes.”
The Helias starters sat for the opening two minutes to start the second quarter. When the starting five returned to the floor, the Lady Crusaders outscored the Lady Tigers 18-4 on their way to a 56-14 advantage at the half.
Morris had a double-double in the first half, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Helias led by as many as 58 points in the third quarter, that coming on a basket by Maddy Larkin to close the scoring that gave the Lady Crusaders a 77-19 lead.
The 60-point final margin was the largest of the game as the Lady Crusaders went deep into their bench in the fourth quarter.
“It’s competition, if you want to get on the floor, you have to earn minutes by playing well,” Wiggans said. “You have to give it 100 percent effort.”
Wiggans thought the reserves played well Thursday.
“Their skill level says their ready to play at this level,” he said. “They have to be among the best scout teams in the state, getting us ready every day in practice. We have to have them.”
Eliza Cavanagh and Hailey Burlingame had seven points each to lead Smith-Cotton (1-10 overall, 0-3 CMAC).
Morris led four Lady Crusaders in double figures with 21 points. She also pulled down 23 rebounds to eclipse the school record of 22 set by Emma Verslues in 2012.
“You expect her to get 10 or more rebounds every game because of her work ethic,” Wiggans said. “Her scoring the ball like she did is just a big bonus.”
Mikah Edwards and Adalyn Koelling added 14 points each for the Lady Crusaders, while Harrison finished with 13.
Helias (11-1, 1-0) will be back at home Monday against Owensville. The varsity-only game will start at 6 p.m.
In the JV game Thursday, Helias defeated Smith-Cotton 58-14. Lydia Moellers finished with 10 points for the Lady Crusaders.
In the freshman game, the Lady Crusaders defeated the Lady Tigers 65-18. Sierra Zuck had 12 points for Helias, while Samantha Christian added 10.