NORTH EATON — There’s nothing like size and experience when it comes to winning basketball games. Tall and unbeaten Christian Community proved that in making short work of visiting Horizon Science Academy, 50-21, Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors’ Abby Grant grabbed the opening tip and, with just five seconds off the clock, laid the ball in to set the tone for the rest of the game. When 6-foot-3 center Sarah Sunde wasn’t dominating the paint for offensive rebounds, Grant was stealing the ball for fast-break layups throughout the first period for a 14-2 lead after eight minutes.
Still, the fast start struck coach Nancy Markovich as rather slow for her Warriors.
“We were a little sluggish,” she said. “We had the winter formal last night and they were all out late.”
If the 11-0 Warriors were tired, it didn’t show, as they continued their onslaught in the second quarter, holding Horizon to a single free throw to lead 26-3 at the half. They controlled the rebounding battle, 34-10, through the first two periods, while limiting the visitors to just one field goal in 27 attempts.
“The size advantage was a big factor,” Mike Sklad, coach of the 8-6 Dragons, said after the loss. “We just didn’t have the height and our jumpers wouldn’t fall in the first half. We were mostly one-and-done on offense.”
The Dragons are in only their second season of varsity basketball and are coming off a 1-14 record last season. Like many young teams, though, the Horizon players refused to quit. Their rebounding picked up in the second half and they won the turnover battle for the game with just 18 to CCS’ 24.
Still, the Warriors continued to pull away in the third quarter as Grant scored eight more points, giving her 14 on the day, on a succession of layups for a 41-9 lead.
Despite the blowout, technically the Dragons won the fourth quarter as Nora Yorko scored 12 points over the eight minutes to Christian Community’s nine. In the final analysis, Yorko was the Horizon offense as she scored all 21 points for the visitors.
“She definitely came through with a tremendous performance for us,” Sklad said of the junior guard. “She’s our floor general. The offense runs through her.”
In contrast, Christian Community had nearly every player score, with Grant leading the way while Sunde added 12. The Warriors shot 36 percent (23 of 64) from the floor, more than doubling Horizon’s 16 percent on 9 of 57.
Markovich put her undefeated team’s lopsided win in perspective.
“(The Dragons) are a young program, a building program,” she said. “They have players who will definitely improve. And (Yorko) did a nice job for them. I told our girls we needed to shut her down. Against a tougher team we are going to have to do that.”
Contact Jim Jablonski at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

Christian Community 50, Horizon Science 21

CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY (50): Sarah Shaw 3-0-6, Abby Grant 7-0-14, Tamara Thomas 1-0-2, Sarah Sunde 5-2-12, Michaela Hawkins 2-1-5, Molly Limpert 1-0-3, Jillian Stewart 1-0-2, Ali Hayes 0-0-0, Bella Lavisky 3-0-6. Totals 23-3-50.
HORIZON SCIENCE (21): Nora Yorko 9-1-21, Antionette Craig 0-0-0, Stephanie DeLeon 0-0-0, Khadya Tutt 0-0-0, Wynasia Hurth 0-0-0, Faith Henderson 0-0-0, Alex Fluellen 0-0-0, Angelica Williams 0-0-0, Kiah Underwood 0-0-0, Talitha Holley 0-0-0. Totals 9-1-21.
Horizon Science         2      1     6    12     —    21    
Christian Comm.         14     12    15     9     —    50
Three-point field goals: CCS 1-2 (Limpert); Horizon 2-3 (Yorko 2). Field goals: CCS 23-64 (36 percent); Horizon 9-57 (16 percent). Free throws: CCS 3-6 (50 percent); Horizon 1-2 (50 percent). Turnovers: CCS 24; Horizon 18. Rebounds: CCS 58, Horizon 29. Fouls: CCS 7, Horizon 5. 

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