FROSTBURG, Md. — Sydney Snyder took over in the second quarter for Mountain Ridge, leading the Miners to a 54-31 win over visiting Keyser on Monday evening.
Snyder scored 11 of Mountain Ridge’s 16 points in the quarter, helping the Miners (3-0) to begin pulling away.
“She controls the whole floor, even in possessions she didn’t score, she controls the possession,” Keyser head coach Josh Blowe said of Snyder, who finished with a game-high 24 points. “She controls the flow. She’s really good, she’s the defending player of the year for a reason.”
The first quarter was close all the way through with four lead changes and three ties.
“A little sloppy, we didn’t take care of the basketball at times,” Mountain Ridge head coach Todd Snyder said. “Gave them some opportunities, I thought if we secured some rebounds we gave them some extra opportunities, they took advantage. Kept the game close in the first half.”
Down 4-2 early, Kealana Pua’auli banked in a jumper off Taylor Lamberson’s assist to tie the game. A few minutes later, Pua’auli drew a foul on a drive to the rim and gave Mountain Ridge a 6-4 lead on a pair of free throws.
“We didn’t come out and move the basketball,” coach Snyder said. “I think the main thing was the basketball was sticking in spots. We want that basketball to move. They were in man, once we started taking advantage of that, that really opened things up for us.”
Autumn Kerchner tied the game on a jumper off an Abby DelSignore assist for the Golden Tornado (2-2).
Reghan Sivic set up Rhegan Lamberson for a layup to retake the lead for the Miners.
DelSignore responded by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws to give Keyser a 9-8 advantage.
The Golden Tornado shot 10 of 12 from the line in the first half.
“We’re attacking the rim, we’re being aggressive,” Blowe said. “We’re getting to open spots, so that’s always a good thing when we get to the line.”
After a jump ball stayed with the Tornado, Rooney Urice set up Austyn Healy for a 3-pointer to push Keyser’s lead to 12-8.
With 20 seconds left in the first quarter, Taylor Lamberson assisted Snyder on a 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.
The Tornado led 12-11 after one quarter, but the lead didn’t last long.
“After the first quarter, I liked where the game was at,” Blowe said. “We were being physical, we were attacking the rim. I know they scored 11, but that was probably our best defensive quarter of the year.”
On the opening possession of the second quarter, Rhegan Lamberson set up Snyder for a jumper to give the Miners a 13-12 lead with 7:23 left.
“She’s been battle-tested,” coach Snyder said of Sydney Snyder. “When we need the basketball in someone’s hands, we want it in her hands. She lets the game come to her, she doesn’t force a whole lot.”
Mountain Ridge held the lead the remainder of the game.
The Miners opened the quarter on a 9-3 run led by Snyder who scored six points with an assist.
With just over a minute left in the half, Bibs Felton found Kiara Kesner who hit a long 2-point jumper to cut Keyser’s deficit to 24-19.
“When we got it to our spots, we looked good,” Blowe said of the passing. “We didn’t always make the shot, but we looked good and the offense flowed a little bit.”
Kesner blocked a layup, setting up an inbound play for Mountain Ridge in the final seconds.
On the ensuing inbound, Makayla Ziler found Snyder for a layup to give the Miners a 27-21 halftime lead.
Mountain Ridge took over in the third quarter, opening the second half with 13 unanswered points.
The Miners took its biggest lead at that point 33-21 when Sivic got an offensive rebound off a missed free throw. She passed to Snyder who found Tringler for a 3-pointer, forcing a timeout from Keyser.
“That was huge, anytime you can get a rebound off a foul shot and then score, turn a one or two-point possession and turn it into four or five points, that’s huge,” coach Snyder said. “That was big in that situation.”
Snyder scored six points and picked up a pair of assists during the run.
It took until the 2:35 mark of the third quarter for Keyser to score when Kesner set up Healy for a 3-pointer.
“I told the girls before the game, good teams are going to make runs,” Blowe said. “When they go on a 6-0 or 8-0 run, it’s never time to panic. It’s time to focus in, lock in and go on a run ourselves.”
Mountain Ridge outscored Keyser 17-5 in the third quarter and led 44-26 heading into the fourth.
The Miners outscored the Tornado 7-5 in the final quarter.
Snyder finished with 24 points, four assists and a steal.
“Once she starts attacking the basket, it’s pretty tough,” coach Snyder said. “They either have to step in, stop her or they don’t worry about the shooters and she kicks.”
Pua’auli added eight points with a steal and an assist. Rhegan Lamberson had six points with three assists and two steals.
Taylor Lamberson scored four points with three steals, two assists and a block.
“She’s long, she can board, she can play post,” coach Snyder said of Taylor Lamberson. “She can play on the wing. That’s impressive for a freshman to do. I’m really pleased with the development of Taylor.”
Urice led Keyser with 13 points, adding a steal and an assist. Felton scored six points with two assists and a block.
“She played well, played hard,” Blowe said of Urice. “I think 13 is her season high, so that was a good thing. Still need her to be a little more aggressive, but she keeps getting better and better.”
The Miners host Hampshire on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
“They’re gonna be athletic, they’re gonna shoot the basketball,” coach Snyder said. “They got a really good point guard, they also have a really good wing player. They got a presence on the inside. It’s gonna be a dogfight, their record doesn’t warrant the capabilities of what they can do.”
The Golden Tornado host Fort Hill on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in a rematch of Friday’s game in South Cumberland won by Keyser 69-47.