Storm exorcise the Demons in home opener

RIO RANCHO — Storm guard Erin Winter stole an errant pass and bolted down the court. She looked briefly for a teammate to assist on the fast break but saw only open court in front of her. She eased up to the basket and let the ball roll off her fingertips and into the net. The buzzer sounded, and with that, the Cleveland girls basketball team took a 58-44 victory over out-of-town rivals, the Santa Fe High School Demons in the Storm home opener.

It started with a few jitters as CHS worked to find their rhythm. Star forward Malia Mose was dominant with her ball control but got into early foul trouble and rode the bench until the end of the third quarter.

“It felt great. I was very proud of them. They had the energy. There were some nerves, but we’ll work that out,” said head coach Staci Pokorski after the game.

The Storm was led by the Winter sisters, Erin and KC. Erin Winter is a team leader and point guard. Her small size is deceiving as you’ll see her battling (and winning) for her fair share of rebounds on both ends of the court. Her sister KC is even more physical and seems to be scrapping for every loose ball, a trait Pokorski says she was hoping to hone coming into this battle with the Demons.

“The mindset was to win every loose ball, everything that was on the floor, and then push the tempo on offense and try to get stuff in transition,” said Pokorski. “They’re doing a great job of that right now.”

On the other end of the court, sophomore guard Lauren Taylor and Demon captain Layla Peters were standouts for Sant Fe in the matchup. Peters was able to bully the Storm inside, and Taylor was able to hit them from the outside.

But it didn’t take much for the Storm to adjust. Once Mose came back into the game, the Storm took over and never looked back.

CLEVELAND 58, SANTA FE 44

@ Cleveland High School, Dec. 10, 2024

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 -- F

Santa Fe 10 7 8 19 -- 44

Cleveland 15 8 22 13 -- 58