Sand Creek dominates on way to first playoff victory

Bolstered by a balanced scoring attack and pressure defense, Sand Creek recorded its first state playoff victory Wednesday with a 63-39 win over Standley Lake.

Check out more photos from the game.

The Scorpions, playing at home as the sixth seed in their region of the Class 5A tournament, capitalized on numerous errors made by the 11th-seeded Gators to break through in the school’s fourth playoff game.

Sand Creek wore down Standley Lake with the 1-2 punch of post players Jade McIntosh and Taylor Proctor, who both recorded double-doubles.

“This whole team has really good chemistry, but Taylor and I especially play well together,” said McIntosh, who finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. “We always talk about situations of how we will pass to each other in the post.”

The Scorpions dominated most statistical categories, but the most glaring difference was a 48-28 rebounding advantage.

“We play very physical, and we hustle after everything,” said Proctor, who had 15 points and 13 rebounds. “The guards look to get it to us inside, and we have a great high-low game.”

After a somewhat sluggish first quarter, Sand Creek outscored Standley Lake 33-15 over the next two quarters as the guards broke down the Gators’ full-court press.

“I really liked the way we worked the ball around,” coach Autumn Sereno said. “Our girls are good at handling the ball and seeing the floor.”

Once the Scorpions got rolling on the offensive end, the lead continued to grow — at one point reaching 30 before the starters were pulled.

“We started passing and cutting to the basket better, and we fed off each other’s energy,” McIntosh said.

The Scorpions must now travel to third-seeded Ponderosa (15-8) for a second-round game Saturday.

“We have to hustle like we did tonight,” Proctor said. “We will come out and play hard to win.”