Canyon View girls basketball coach Brad Lambeth had a simple assessment of the competition his team faces in Region 9.
"There are no patsies," he said. "Every game is a dogfight."
With a scoring weapon like senior Cassie Holmes, the Falcons know they have the right amount of fight for the battle.
Behind Holmes' 19 points, the Falcons beat Dixie 50-34 on Thursday at the Falcons' Nest to improve to 5-0 in Region 9 play and 10-3 overall.
"I was feeling really good with my shot," said Holmes, who scored 11 straight Canyon View points at one stretch to help them build their largest lead at 29-15 early in the third quarter.
Holmes had 18 points through three quarters, but the Falcons couldn't quite put the Flyers away until they hit their free throws down the stretch. Dixie (0-4, 1-10) closed within 38-29 early in the fourth, but turnovers proved costly.
Shanelle Seegmiller led the Flyers with 11 points - all in the second half - but picked up three fouls within the game's first five minutes.
"We were still hanging with the deficit at eight or nine points in the second half, but if you keep turning the ball over, you're not going to catch up," said Dixie coach Larry Andersen.
Holmes started her scoring spree and got Canyon View rolling late in the second quarter, hitting shots on three straight possessions to spark a 10-0 run and a 24-12 lead. She answered a Nicole Winters 3-pointer with one of her own in the final minute to help stretch the margin to 27-15 at the half.
"We feel really good as a team, but we're still not looking too far ahead," said Holmes, who had a season high of 23 points in a win over Pine View last Thursday. "We've got to look at one team, one game at a time."
Lambeth knows exactly how Holmes feels.
"We've got a target on our back having won six (Region 9) titles in a row," he said. "The girls know they have to play hard every time out."
In total, eight different Falcons got their names on the final score sheet, another development that left Lambeth with a good feeling.
"We can't rely on just one scorer. It's nice to have people step up," he said. "We challenge the girls and tell them that anyone can be a threat at any time."
