COLORADO SPRINGS – Allison Leisher had seen enough in the second quarter. She scored Coronado only field goal in the first and watched as the Cougars started 2022 by trailing Lewis-Palmer 8-3 after the first quarter.
She took matters into her own hands. She scored 13 of her game-high 24 points in the second and mixed in some clutch second-half baskets to lead the Cougars to a 48-43 on Wednesday.
“It was good when our team got the ball moving and it opened things up for everyone,” she said.
Scoring isn’t a new concept to her as she averaged 13 points per game last season. But her role is shifted this season under new coach Jeff Beatty, who won a state championship at Mesa Ridge in 2014.
“She was the leading scorer last year,” Beatty said. “I’ve put her in a different role and she’s still adjusting to that. She’ll have a lot more big-point games than she’s had in the past.”
The Cougars (4-6 overall) took a 21-19 lead at halftime, but Lewis-Palmer was never going to just give the game away. Like Leisher, L-P forward Griffin Greenwood had little impact in the first quarter before coming on stronger in the second. She scored six of her team-high 13 points in the second.
As the Leisher grabbed momentum for the Cougars, Greenwood knew she had to provide an offensive spark to keep the Rangers (6-5) in the game.
“It was time for me to get offensive and get some points to get us back up energy-wise,” she said. “All the ladies were in it in that third quarter to get us back.”
The Rangers regained the lead heading into the final eight minutes of the game but couldn’t score a point for nearly five minutes in the fourth quarter. By that time, Dayshanay Bruner scored her first basket of the game and Leisher added back-to-back layups to give the Cougars a 39-29 lead.
The fight still hadn’t left the Rangers, however. They started knocking down shots, including a massive 3-pointer from Courtney Auld and eventually got to within three points. To help their cause, Leisher fouled out of the game, keeping the window of opportunity open.
“It was an aggressive game and physical on both ends of the court,” Lewis-Palmer coach Kristy Youngpeter said. “They had a good defensive game plan and played tight on some of our ladies and it challenged us.”
With each shot opportunity that didn’t fall for the Rangers, the ball got into the hands of Ella Leisher, who went 7 of 10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. Her knocking down those free throws kept the Cougars out of reach of Lewis-Palmer and gave them their biggest win of the season, just as the team is getting healthy.
“We finally have our starting five together for the first time,” Beatty said. “We got our feet wet for the first time (before break) but we have our full five together and it will just take some time for them to get their continuity.”
If Leisher can continue to score more than 20 points per game as they figure that continuity out, it’s likely the team will find its comfort zone sooner than later.
