Lady Tigers pick up needed win against Kuna

After losses in their first three games of the season, the Mountain Home Lady Tigers picked up their first win Friday night, beating Kuna.

Capital 51, Mountain Home 18

Cold shooting and turnovers plagued Mountain Home last week as they lost to the tall Lady Eagles from Capital, 51-18, at Capital High School in Boise Nov. 19.

The 5A Lady Eagles from Capital have six players standing 6' 0" or better, while Mountain Home freshman Sable Lohmeier is Mountain Home's tallest at 5 feet, 11 inches.

Capital led from the start, but a trey by Jacci Cristobal brought the Lady Tigers to within one, at 4-3, early in the first quarter. Capital went on to lead 20-6 after a quarter and stretched it to 34-13 at the half. It was 49-17 after three quarters and, with a running clock in the fourth quarter, it ended up 51-18 Capital.

Jacci Cristobal led the Lady Tigers with 10 points. Mattie Bennett added seven and Whitney Sandberg scored one point.

Mountain Home did not connect on a two-point field goal, but hit five three-pointers. They shot just 12 percent (5/41) from the field and just 25 percent (3/12) from the free-throw line.

Middleton 51, Mountain Home 14

The Lady Tigers continued their shooting woes last Wednesday night, losing their conference opener at Middleton 51-14.

Neither team shot that well in the first quarter, although the Lady Vikings led 10-2 after a quarter.

Mountain Home got a free throw from Sable Lohmeier early in the second quarter, but a field goal by Tracey Gordon with 3:12 left in the half would be the last score until Jacci Cristobal scored with 2:55 left in the third quarter -- over eight minutes later. It was 27-5, Middleton, at halftime and 42-7 after three.

The Lady Tigers had more success against the Middleton bench in the fourth quarter to make it a 51-14 final.

Mountain Home shot just 11 percent (5/44) from the field at Middleton, and 50 percent (3/6) from the foul line.

"We are obviously really struggling to score the basketball," said Lady Tigers coach Brent Keener. "We've gotten some decent looks, but just can't finish. Somehow we've got to produce some points."

Jacci Cristobal led Mountain Home in scoring at Middleton with seven points. Tracey Gordon added six and Sable Lohmeier added one.

Mountain Home 50, Kuna 45

The Lady Tigers played to their potential Friday night, downing the Lady Kavemen from Kuna 50-4 in conference action in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium in Mountain Home.

Mountain Home used an 11-0 run to take a 13-4 lead after a quarter.

Kuna battled back in the second quarter to cut the Lady Tigers' lead to two on two occasions in the second quarter, but Mountain Home pushed its lead back to five, 24-19, at the half.

Mountain Home upped its lead to seven, 30-23, in the third before Kuna went on a 13-2 run to take the lead, 36-32, heading into the fourth quarter.

A 5-0 run to start the fourth gave Mountain Home the lead, 37-36, before Kuna hit a trey to go back up, 39-37.

Back-to-back baskets by Whitney Sandberg gave the Lady Tigers the lead, 41-39. Tracey Gordon followed with a basket to up it to 43-39 and Mountain Home never trailed the rest of the way, winning 50-45.

Coach Keener was pleased with the win.

"It was an incredible effort. A totally different team from what we saw the first three games.

"I got a little worried once we lost that lead -- all the momentum went to Kuna -- but we relaxed and made some big shots. I thought Whitney (Sandberg) made some big shots. Tracey (Gordon) made a couple at the end that she had missed earlier, and I thought Jacci (Cristobal) was a lot more solid with the basketball."

Cristobal led the Mountain Home scoring with a season and career-high 21 points. Whitney Sandberg's 10 points was also her season and career best. She recorded a double-double, also bringing down 12 rebounds.

Tracey Gordon scored a season-high eight points and had eight rebounds. Mattie Bennett added six and had eight boards. Sable Lohmeier, three points and six rebounds, and Kristan Jackson scored her first two varsity points.

The Lady Tigers had their best night of the season shooting from the field, hitting 33 percent of their shots (19/57), including four of 10 threes (40 percent), although their free throw shooting left a lot to be desired. They were a dismal 31 percent (8/26) from the free-throw line.

The win improved Mountain Home to 1-1 in conference and 1-3 on the season.

The team traveled to Columbia Tuesday night and hosts Emmett on Saturday night.

"Definitely two winnable games," said Coach Keener. "Definitely, if we play like we did tonight (against Kuna), we'll be all right."

This week we start a series of taking a closer look at the Mountain Home Lady Tigers varsity basketball team.

Jacci Cristobal

Jacci Cristobal is one of five seniors on this year's squad. The 5 foot, 7 inch point guard is the daughter of John and Julie Cristobal.

Her hobbies include volleyball, basketball, track, camping, hanging out with friends and spending time with her family. Jacci had both personal and team goals for this season.

"Personally I hope to cut down on errors and average at least 15 points a game," she said. "As a team, I hope we make it to state."

Her future goals include attending college and earning a degree in the medical field.