SINCLAIRVILLE - Two days ago, on the opening night of the Lady Cougars Tipoff Tournament, Elle Reed had tallied a "quiet" 23 points in leading her Sherman Lady Wildcats to a comfortable 20-point victory over Falconer.
During the contest - her first of the season - Reed had gotten off to a somewhat slow start and missed her first several shots.
"Yeah, she started a little slow," Sherman coach Mel Swanson recalled late Thursday night, "but it was her first game, and she was just pressing a little bit."
Article Photos
Elle Reed of Sherman drives around a screen by teammate Danielle Reed during the championship game of the Lady Courgars Tipoff Tournament. See additional photos at cu.post-journal.com.
P-J photo by Rob Tucker
Then he smiled and added, "That wasn't the story today."
No, it certainly wasn't.
The senior almost couldn't miss - from her first bucket 25 seconds into the championship game with Maple Grove to the last with two minutes remaining in the fourth - on the way to pouring in a Sherman school-record 38 points and securing for the Lady Wildcats (2-0) a convincing, 70-34 victory over the Lady Red Dragons (1-1) and a second straight Lady Cougars Tipoff Tournament title.
The total snapped Pam Waite's previous single-game record of 36, which was set way back in 1984.
"She shot lights-out," Swanson said. "She just took over the game. She really did. When the ball was in her hands, she controlled the game."
Along with the 38 points, Reed, who earned tournament Most Valuable Player honors, also pulled down seven rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked three shots.
"It was a pretty complete game," Swanson said.
In a sign of the good things to come - for Reed, the Lady Wildcats and the Sherman faithful on hand, at least - the guard hit her first two shots to give Sherman an early 4-0 lead.
After Bridget Yaw tallied the next six to make it 10-0 and Danielle Reed hit a triple a few minutes later to make it 14-3, Reed scored the next three points, thanks to a deep jumper that hit nothing but net and a free throw, to give Sherman a hefty, 19-6 advantage at the close of the first period.
Over the next three quarters, Maple Grove, in the face of a tough Sherman zone defense, never got closer, while Reed only got stronger.
The scorer opened the second with a runner in the lane and then connected on the first of her four treys a minute later. After more contributions from teammates (Katrina Christmas scored four straight points) Reed once again took over, scoring five of the final eight (for a grand total of 10 of 20 for the period) to send Sherman into the locker room with a 39-22 lead.
It was those teammate contributions (Yaw finished with 14 points, Christmas seven and Danielle Reed six), Swanson noted, that helped Reed reach the record-breaking total.
"Last year she (often) played against a triangle and two with two (defenders) on her," Swanson said. "So when there's just one on her, unless the defenders are extremely quick and as big as she is, she finds a way to score."
Finding her 3-point range in the third, Reed dropped in 16 of the team's 22 points behind a pair of triples, a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays, a trio of jump shots and five free throws.
Maple Grove, meanwhile, struggled to keep pace, and managed just 12 points over the final 16 minutes of play.
(Elle's) had a lot of great games," Swanson finished, "This was probably the best she's shot for a whole game and was certainly one of the better games of her career."
NOTES: In addition to Reed, Yaw, Lauren Nickerson (eight points) and Nickara Liddell (nine points) were named to the all-tournament team.
SHERMAN (70)
EReed 14 6 38, Yaw 7 0 14, Christmas 3 1 7, DReed 2 0 6, Hannold 1 1 3, Rater 1 0 2. Totals 28 8 70.
MAPLE GROVE (34)
MSwanson 2 2 6, Nickerson 3 2 8, Winchester 2 0 4, Liddell 3 0 9, ESwanson 1 1 3, Adams 1 2 4. Totals 12 7 34.
3-point goals: EReed 4, DReed 2, Liddell 3.
Sherman19 20 22 9 - 70
Maple Grove6 16 9 3 - 34