Lady Tigers on rebound

Jacey Carr pulls down the rebound as Jazzi Cristobal helps maintain the perimeter as the Lady Tigers varsity squad battled the Gooding Senators on Saturday.

The Mountain Home Lady Tigers snapped a month-long losing streak on Saturday as the girls basketball team faces its toughest stretch of the season.

During a five-game stretch, the Lady Tigers faced four of the top five ranked teams in the 4A division.

After two losses to Bishop Kelly and Middleton, the Lady Tigers defeated the Gooding Senators in a decisive 57-44 win on Saturday.

The win came after a month-long losing streak in which the Lady Tigers went 0-9. The losing streak began with a 54-64 loss on the road at Gooding. In their first matchup, the Tigers were in control for three quarters but squandered a second half, double-digit lead.

Mountain Home had several great first halves during their skid, but their inability to close out games caused the losses to pile up. Even in their victory against Wood River, the Lady Tigers let a comfortable double-digit lead in the fourth get chipped away to a smaller seven-point victory.

After letting close games to Gooding, Caldwell, Canyon Ridge and Skyview slip through their fingertips in the second half, the young Lady Tigers broke through their slump.

The Lady Tigers were paced by their freshmen, who scored a combined 46 points. Adrie Blanksma had a career high 26 points to lead all scorers. Jazzi Cristobal chipped in 11 points with three assists and one turnover. Emalee Pippin provided nine points off the bench.

Gooding was able to cut the deficit to two midway through the third, but the Tigers would close the game on an 18-5 run in the last 11 minutes. Senior Sophia Harris and junior Jacey Carr combined for 10 rebounds and four steals and two blocks in the final half.

The freshman team notched their lone conference win Jan. 2 at Skyview High School with a decisive 46-18 victory. After sweeping their holiday tournament, the junior varsity team won its sixth game of the season Saturday with a five-point victory over Gooding.

The Lady Tigers played their next game Tuesday at home against Kuna High School's Lady Kavemen. The head back to the Treasure Valley on Tuesday for a game against Caldwell before they host Skyview on Jan. 21.