Contributing Writer
CARMEL â??? Late fans walking into the gym Jan. 26 to check out the stateâ??s leading scorer, Megan King, may have done a double take.
In a game of two Class A Top 15 teams, King and second-ranked Fort Wayne Canterbury led by nearly 30 points and thoroughly manhandled No. 12 University, 62-50, in a game that wasnâ??t anywhere near as close as the final score.
Despite playing only two minutes in the fourth quarter, King finished with 30 points.
â??Well, 30 points in probably only 23 minutes or so,â? said Canterbury coach Scott Kreiger. â??Once again a very efficient night for her â??? she has a great supporting cast around her, and that makes it a lot easier on her.
â??But she was great tonight.â?
For the Cavaliers, the win was particularly impression because the girls didnâ??t have school during the day before the two-and-a-half hour drive down to Carmel.
The dominance started from the opening quarter. Using a deliberate display on offense and defense, Canterbury built a 15-7 lead. Then King, who came in averaging 26.1 points per game, began to take control.
The senior was a one-girl team in the second quarter.
As the other Cavaliers lost their shooting touches, King scored all 12 of her teamâ??s points in the period, single-handedly pushing the lead to a dozen at 27-15 heading to the locker room.
King picked up right where she left off in the third quarter as the Cavaliers began to distance themselves from the Trailblazers. Even though University had its highest-scoring quarter of the first three with 12 points, the Canterbury lead ballooned to 28 and ended any possibility of a comeback.
University was able to cut the final margin to a respectable figure playing against Canterburyâ??s back-ups.
â??I was really pleased with the way we played,â? Kreiger said. â??The final score didnâ??t really reflect how well we played â??? we had a big lead throughout.â?
With the end of the season coming up, the blowout victory provided a perfect opportunity for Kreiger to rest his starters to help prevent injuries.
â??It is so important because you canâ??t have a starter or key player get hurt at this point in the season,â? Kreiger said. â??It does help to get some of the lesser-experienced kids to get out there and run the offense against their top players.â?
For the three quarters when his starters were in, Kreiger had no regrets.
â??With the long bus ride and everything, facing a 14-3 team in University â?¦ there was a lot of scary things on the plate,â? Kreiger said. â??But we came out and took care of business.â?
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