SPRING CREEK - Something happened in the locker rooms during halftime of the girls basketball game Tuesday between Elko and Spring Creek.

Spring Creek exited the locker room and played with some new-found emotion and motivation, while Elko did the opposite. The result - Spring Creek ran away with a 46-27 victory in the cross-hill rivalry.

Believe it or not, Spring Creek led by a slim 22-19 margin at halftime. Elko simply could not overcome a 10-0 Lady Spartan run to start the second half.

So what changed?

“Our rebounds were key,” said Spring Creek coach Sarah Arendt. “We talked about it at halftime - limiting them to one attempt on offense. It was nice to have (the offensive rebounds) too.”

The Lady Spartans missed their first second-half shot, then scored on their next four possessions. Three of the four possessions were extended by Spring Creek rebounds after missed free throws and kept Elko on the defensive end of the court longer than it wanted.

Elko didn't help itself with six fouls during the infamous “four-possession stretch.” Everything seemed to hinge on the Spring Creek run and the Lady Spartans successfully frustrated Elko.

“I saw two different teams out there tonight,” said Elko coach Karen Hoem in reference to her own team. “We had the same five girls out there in the second half as we did in the first. No one seemed like they wanted to score or rebound.”

The play and the score wasn't always so lopsided. Spring Creek jumped out to a 12-2 lead, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Noelle Laffoon and another by Andrea Empey. Offensive rebound putbacks by Lacy Rider and Teagan Tolden increased the Lady Spartans' lead to 17-6 in the second quarter, but Elko wasn't about to let the game slip away yet.

Elko senior Shelby Bruns asserted herself in the paint and scored six points after offensive rebounds and senior Devyn Courts added five points (with a 3-pointer included) to help the Lady Indians claw back to the 22-19 halftime deficit.

It was all Spring Creek from that point on.

Courts picked up her fourth foul with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left in the third. Rider put in a short jumper after the foul, Spring Creek forced a turnover and the rout was in effect.

Two possessions later Rider was fouled while she made a shot, missed the ensuing free throw but Stacey Kerr grabbed the rebound and scored.

After another Elko turnover it was Tolden's turn to make a shot, get fouled, miss a free throw and have Kerr grab the rebound. Kerr was fouled and made one free throw to give Spring Creek a 32-19 advantage.

Good foul shooting by Mary Suing, who also recorded two key steals, and field goals by Kerr and Rider increased the Lady Spartans' lead to 41-21.

Both coaches then began to empty their benches.

Spring Creek showed flashes of dominance in the third quarter when it outscored Elko 23-4, but Arendt said the Lady Spartans' best is yet to come.

“I think we can be even better than we played tonight,” Arendt said. “We're never satisfied with how we're playing and we need to get better.”

Rider and Laffoon led Spring Creek's balanced scoring with 10 points apiece, while Kerr scored nine. Bruns was Elko's top scorer with nine.