FORT PIERRE - No. 9-ranked Stanley County had its most dominating game of the season as they won their battle with Gettysburg 69-30 on Monday at Parkview Gym.

The 39-point margin of victory was the most lopsided Lady Buff win since a 73-28 win over Philip on Aug. 30, 2001.

It was the Stanley County's fourth win in a row and improved their overall record to

8-2

"This is what we've been looking for," said coach Tom Rogers. "It seems like we have always been playing down to the level of our opponents. But we executed better. There are still some things that need to be worked on."

The Lady Battlers, who fell to 1-6 in losing their fourth straight, had no one who could handle Stanley County's dynamo Sam Ostarello.

The Big 10-bound junior scored nine of her team's first 13 points and finished with 28. On defense she blocked three first quarter shot attempts, and Gettysburg was never able to muster much offense.

The visitors trailed 32-14 at halftime and 46-26 after three quarters.

"She's definitely an intimidating factor," said Rogers. "She comes at you with those long arms and you've already had one swatted back in your face. So she changes a lot of shots."

Ostarello had 18 points by halftime.

"The thing about Sam is she's such a versatile player," said Rogers. "You can put her at the 3-point line or you can put her inside and she can score either way. She's a tough kid to try to defend when she doesn't try to force things."

Another bright spot for the Lady Buffs was sophomore shooting guard Mariah Sazue. Sazue sank three 3-pointers and finished with a career-best 13 points, all in the second half.

"That's something we've been missing at shooting guard," Rogers said of the transfer from Pierre. "That is mostly her getting comfortable. She can relieve a lot of the pressure from the middle."

Kelsey Hanson had her fourth straight game in double figures with 10 points. Jordan Cole led the Lady Battlers with 11 points."

Although red-hot, the Lady Buffs will now be cooling their heels for the next nine days.

Stanley County's next action on the schedule is the Southern Plains Conference tournament on Jan. 17. The Lady Buffs will likely be the No. 1 seeded team in the North bracket and play Jones County in the first round in Murdo.

"These kids need a little rest," said Rogers. "We've got a long ways to go. We've got a chance to be one of the top teams in the state. There is not a team left on the schedule that we cannot beat. We're playing a lot better than we were two weeks ago."