Morris whittled Sycamore’s 18-point lead down to seven to end the third quarter. That’s when Sadie Lang and Quinn Carrier slammed the door on a comeback.

The duo combined for three 3-pointers before Morris could score, and the lead remained in double digits for the rest of the game in the Spartans’ 65-52 home win in the Interstate 8 contest Tuesday night.

“I think it was definitely a big momentum change in the game,” said Lang, who finished with a game-high 23 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. “It led to more energy and getting a run that we needed.”

The Spartans (12-8 overall, 4-1 conference) led 39-23 at the break and immediately pushed it to 18 on a no-look pass from Carrier to Lang to start the third.

But Morris (5-14, 2-3) scored 23 points in the quarter and trailed 53-46 heading into the fourth. Lily Hansen punctuated the quarter with a steal and a layup. All three turnovers by the Spartans led to Morris buckets in the frame.

“She’s our go-to,” Morris coach Michael Lutz said of Hansen, who finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and five steals. “She’s who we look to in the post. She’s had some 20-point, 20-rebound games. If some of those shots around the basket went down early, she probably could have [had another game like that].”

Sycamore scored 12 points in the fourth quarter – two 3-pointers each by Lang and Carrier. After Carrier’s with 2:16 left put Sycamore up 65-48, Spartan assistant coach Brett Lucca pulled his starters. Four of Morris’ six fourth-quarter points came after the backups were in.

Lucca, filling in for head coach Adam Wickness, who was out with the flu, said he liked how his team weathered the Morris run.

“We kind of increased the lead there a little bit,” Lucca said. “It was good to see us face a little adversity there in the third and come out with more energy in the fourth.”

The Spartans celebrated senior night, starting five seniors. Regulars Grace Amptmann and Kortni Kruizenga were in the starting lineup, but Jaylynn Smiley, Norah Chami and Layla Janisch also started.

Morris was without regular starter Tessa Shannon and using a six-player rotation, so with Lang and Carrier – who scored 21 – coming off the bench, the Spartan reserves outscored their counterparts 51-2. Sydney Fabrizius had the other seven bench points.

The five Sycamore seniors played 4:31 and left with a 10-4 lead. Amptmann scored seven of those points and finished with nine in the game.

“Our bench energy was great,” Lang said. “Our seniors coming in and playing hard in the first four minutes was big.”

Without Shannon, freshman Maddie Simpson moved into the starting lineup and scored a team-best 17 points while grabbing five rebounds. Alyssa Jespen added 12 points.

“We just never gave up,” Lutz said. “It got to 18 in the third quarter, and we brought it back to seven. I don’t fault their heart.”