Lady Tigers split a pair
It was back to district action for the Lady Tigers basketball team. The team continues to improve their brand of play as they were involved in two close games, one a heartbreaker. They would eke out a 51-47 victory over Alamo Heights but failed to hold off a late basket in the Veteran's Memorial 47-46 loss. They are now 2-3 in district and 6-12 overall.
Alamo Heights stayed close the entire night as each team took turns leading after each quarter. AH surprised by jumping out to a 15-10 lead after one. This woke the Lady Tigers up and they came back strong to overtake the Lady Mules at half 24- 23. DS continued to forge ahead and extended their lead to six at 37-31 after three. It was AH turn to lead the quarter but it would not be enough to outdo the Lady Tigers. Almost all of the Lady Tigers contributed in points as the team continues to put up the ball hitting 8-38 from two and 7-20 from three and 14-27 from the line. They did turn the ball over 21 times but recouped with 12 steals and five assists.
Fresh from this victory the Lady Tigers would host SA Veteran's Memorial. VM at the time had not won a game in district. They were short-handed with only seven players but they were good athletes and matched up well. It was definitely a spectator's game as both teams played an up-tempo pace moving the ball up and down the court. Neither team was afraid to shoot the ball and hustled for the loose balls as well.
Our Lady Tigers were impressive by their improvement over previous games. It is obvious the coaching staff has been working hard to correct and the players are responding. Their ballhandling skills were much better which included taking care of the ball in tight situations and finding open players. They played more aggressively going for the ball on the floor and rebounds. The most notable was their willingness to take the shots when they were given the opportunity and an aggressiveness to the basket. Just more accuracy needed. Afterall, one cannot score if they do not shoot. Hayden Ely, Azaria Arnold, Caroline Dill, Jordan Cox and Ella Smith are leading the charge with many others showing up as capable players.
This game never got far away as the Lady Tigers biggest lead was five points and VM four. Karenna Edwards got the scoring started with two free throws and Smith made it four before VM could get on the board. VM tied it at six halfway in and controlled the lead the rest of the quarter to lead 11-10. The next quarter had one tie and seven lead changes as they just kept swapping baskets. DS eased out to their largest lead of the night at 21-16 only to have VM hit two threes in the last 14 seconds including a true buzzer beater to take a 22-21 lead to the lockerroom.
The second half was just as tight with two ties and five changes. Each time it looked like the Lady Tigers were about to pull away VM would battle back. They were ahead 36-32 before free throws in the final five seconds gave DS a thin 36- 35 margin after three. VM would tie it at 39 but DS would claw back to take a 44-40 lead with under two minutes left. They would take the lead back 46-45 with 38 seconds left but a VM basket with 24 seconds remaining would seal the deal. A definite heartbreaker as DS put forth a strong effort. DS was 13-34 from two, 5-25 from three and 5-9 from the line.
DS will continue to work on their improvement in the Hays tourney and Lehman on December 31. District standings: Kerrville Tivy 3-0, NB Canyon 5-0, Boerne Champion 4-1, Seguin 3-2, Hays Johnson 3-2, DS 2-3, Veterans Memorial 1-4, Lehman 0-4, Alamo Heights 0-5.
Vs AH: Scoring: Ely 9, Cox 7, Ainsley Ballard 6, Smith 5, Arnold 5, Brynn Fields 5, Dill 5, Linan Scott 5, Makynna 3, Anna Rhode 1. Reb: Smith 7, Arnold 3, Kiera O'Connor 3, Dill 2, Karenna Edwards 2, Fields 2, Cox 2, Hubbard, Scott.
Vs VM: Ely 11, Cox 8, Smith 8, Arnold 6, Dill 5, Fields 3, Scott 3, Edwards 2. Reb: Smith 8, Ely 6, Arnold 6, Cox 5, Fields 4, Dill 3, Edwards 2, O'Connor, Madelyn Robles, Ballard, Scott.