For most first-year head coaches it takes times to get accustomed to a new district. Silverdale Baptist Academy girls' basketball coach Victor Underwood is looking to take the crown.
Underwood will have that opportunity after his Lady Seahawks downed Boyd-Buchanan 48-35 Tuesday night in the District 5-A semifinals at Arts & Sciences. The win solidifies a championship matchup tonight with CSAS.
The Lady Bucs will play Copper Basin in the consolation round.
"It has just been about trusting the process for our team," Underwood said. "This was the expectation coming in tonight, and our girls stepped up tonight. I am proud of them, but our goal is to get that win tomorrow, so we are just focused on what is ahead."
SBA opened the game up midway through the first quarter after Boyd-Buchanan took its only lead of the game. Madison Caldwell scored the Lady Seahawks' first nine points, and her basket at the 3:04 mark gave her team the lead for good. That basket started a 10-0 run and gave them a 14-9 first-quarter lead.
Emily Harkleroad's 3-pointer increased the Lady Seahawks' advantage to eight before the halftime buzzer, and they extended the lead to 16 in the third after coming out of the break with four straight layups.
Boyd-Buchanan cut the deficit to 12 after Meredith Balthrop's layup and free throw made it five straight to open the fourth. However, Silverdale ended any chance at a comeback by limiting the Lady Bucs to five points the rest of the game.
"We did a good job defensively in the third quarter, and we were able to separate ourselves," Underwood said. "We did not give up a lot of second shots and we were able to keep the ball out of the paint, so I was pleased with the effort."
Caldwell had a game-high 17 points for the No. 1 seed Lady Seahawks. Rachel Sanders and Harkleroad added 12 and 11.
Balthrop led Boyd-Buchanan with 12 points. Laney Bone contributed 11.
Silverdale now looks to knock off two-time reigning champion CSAS. Luckily for Underwood, the confidence he has shown as a first-year head coach has trickled down to his players ahead of their district showdown.
"They are going to play hard, obviously," Caldwell said. "They gave us a run for our money the second time we played them, but we know we can beat them. It is going to be a hard game, but it would be big for us if we can win."
Contact Anthonoy Sigismond at sports@timesfreepress.com.