SANGER – Following Tuesday’s game between Class 2A Ponder and Class 3A Sanger, both coaches pointed at one quarter as the reason for the outcome.

“We got after it in the third quarter,” said Sanger coach Jack Armstrong.

Enter Ponder coach Bobby Bates.

“We didn’t look good in third quarter,” he said. “Not good at all.”

Thanks to 24 points from Sanger star Reagan Miller and a big burst of points in the third quarter, the Lady Indians topped the Lady Lions, 58-35 at Indian Gym.

“I was pleased with the way we came out in the third quarter,” said Armstrong, whose team avenged a loss to Ponder two weeks ago. “Last time we played them they scored the first eight points after halftime. So we talked about coming out strong in the third quarter.”

It was a tight game during the first two quarters and, after Ponder (7-4) hit back-to-back buckets to make it 30-26, it appeared the second half would resemble the first half.

“Then it started to snowball on us,” Bates said. “When the wheels fall off, they fall off fast for us. All of our losses this year have been like this one.”

A big reason for Ponder’s loss and Sanger’s win was because Ponder became a turnover machine while Sanger (8-3) was a scoring machine in the third quarter.

Sparked by a Miller 3-pointer, Sanger finished the last five minutes of the third frame on a 13-1 run.

“It makes it a lot easier when the ball goes in the hole,” Armstrong said. “We just played better against them this time and Ponder didn’t play as good as they did last time.”

During the surge Sanger missed just one shot as it turned quick steals into easy baskets.

The Lady Indians’ press defense was just too much for the Lady lions, who turned the ball over 10 times in the third quarter, and at one point had six miscues on six consecutive possessions. The Lady Lions also took only six shots in the third frame.

“We weren’t smart with the ball,” Bates said. “We were carless the whole game.”

Thanks to seven quick points by Miller in the fourth quarter, Sanger’s lead ballooned to more than 20 points, and the Lady Indians never lost control en route to the win.

“I think we wore them out a little bit,” Armstrong said. “And we were able to turn those mistakes into points.”

Miller scored the ball in every way on Tuesday. She did it with the long ball, the short jumper and the easy transition layup.

“I would never take her off the floor if I had her,” Bates said.

Last time out against the Lady Lions, Miller was held to six points. She wasn’t about to let that happen again.

“She played a great game tonight,” Armstrong said. “She is the one that make us go.”

The first half featured miscues and missed shots. Both teams had a shooting clip of less than 40 percent, and both teams turned the ball over a dozen times.

But it was close throughout.

No team led by more than six points in the half and there were nine lead changes and seven ties during the first 16 minutes of the game.

MATTHEW MUENCH can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is mmuench@dentonrc.com.

Sanger 58, Ponder  35

Ponder 10           12           5              8              --             35

Sanger  8              18           17           15           --             58

Ponder (7-4) –Jessica Sprabeary 7, Brooke Sanders 6, Emily Liberto 2, Tyne Deussen 5, Madison Stout 4, Morgan Daniels 4, Ashley Peterson 3, Kayla Ross 4.