Varsity Lady Lions struggle in Yoakum Tournament

The Varsity Lady Lions traveled to Yoakum last week and participated in the Yoakum Lady Bulldogs Varsity Tournament on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 4 and 5.

Game One
The Lady Lions fell 42-51 to Memorial JV on Thursday, Dec. 4.

According to Head Coach Melissa Fisher, the Lady Lions struggled with intensity on defense. They were out rebounded 11-8 by a ve

ry physical Memorial JV team.

“The Lady Lions found it hard to get the ball to fall in the hole,” Fisher said. “They shot only 25.1 percent in the first quarter, but they did not give up. They fought back, improving their shooting percentage to 50.3 percent.”
The real tale in the game was at the three-point line, where Memorial was five for six during the game.

“The Lady Lions won the second and fourth quarters and are learning the hard way that it takes four quarters of intense defensive play to win,” Coach Melissa Fisher said.

Chelsy Martinez led the Lady Lions with 13 points, three assists and six rebounds. Andrea McKinney had her best game of the season so far, bringing down eight rebounds and scoring six points. Kariah Selby helped put points on the boards adding seven and Jaimee Bennett followed behind with four.

Game Two
The Lady Lions defeated Hardin 46-40 after traveling back to Yoakum on Friday, Dec. 5.

“The Lady Lions arrived ready to avenge Thursday’s disappointing loss and came out swinging against Hardin, putting together their best game of the season so far,” Fisher said.

The first quarter opened with Tory Hill knocking down two three-pointers and one from the field.

Amanda Alvarez and Alisha Officer also shot well in the first quarter scoring two long range shots adding four points each to the 19-9 lead in the first quarter.

Hardin woke up in the second half and brought some intensity to the floor, tying the Lady Lions at 10.

The third quarter opened with Hardin trying hard to earn the win. Hardin out rebounded and outscored the Lady Lions for the first time in the game. The Lady Lions did not back down. They continued to fight until the end, outscoring Hardin 11-8 in the fourth quarter.

“Tory Hill had her best game of the season shooting 50 percent from the field,” Fisher said. “She had 17 points in the game and five rebounds. Alisha Officer had six rebounds and six points in the game. The only low point in the game was when Jaimee Bennett went down hard in the second half with a bruised knee, which hurt the Lady Lions the following day.”

Game Three
The Lady Lions fell 28-60 to Halletsville on Friday, Dec. 6.
Halletsville took a quick 10-0 lead in the first quarter.

“The Lady Lions struggled to keep their composure, turning the ball over against an intense press from Halletsville,” Fisher said.

The first half closed with the Lady Lions outscored 45-11. The Lady Lions went into the locker room at half timeand came back a different team, outscoring the Lady Brahmas 17-15 in the second half.

“I think we learned a valuable lesson today,” Fisher said. “We realized that you can either attack, or be attacked. We played scared the first half after Halletsville took a quick lead. The amount of courage and determination the girls have had in continuing to fight and not quit is what will make us more successful down the road. More importantly, it will make the girls more successful in life.”

Game Four
The Lady Lions fell 44-45 to Shiner on Friday, Dec. 6.

The Lady Lions faced Shiner in their last game of the Yoakum Round Robin Tournament.

Shiner came out and attacked hard from the beginning. They took command of the boards, which proved to be the determining factor in the game.

Shiner out rebounded the Lady Lions 12-5 in the first quarter and took a 10-6 lead.

“The Lady Lions decided to fight a little harder in the second quarter and out rebounded Shiner 11-7 and outscored them 12-10” Fisher said.

The teams headed into halftime with a score of 20-18.

“It was apparent that this game was going to come down to the wire,” Fisher said. “The teams exchanged leads on the scoreboard nine times. The Lady Lions were up by one with 34 seconds left in the game, but a costly violation trying to get the ball in bounds gave the ball to Shiner. They took the lead after a quick foul on the inbounds play.

The Lady Lions were down by one with 12 seconds left in the game. They had the opportunity to score but were unable to make the lay-up and time expired.

“We had plenty of opportunities to win this game,” Fisher said. “This was a team we could have beat easily with more effort on the boards and better free throw shooting. We only shot 33 percent from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, which hurt. It hurt a lot. Having Jaimee Bennett out really hurt this game because she adds a lot to our rebounding efforts when a team is a little taller and a little more physical. This definitely was another learning experience for us, as it was the first game we have played as a team that was this tight and the game came down to the wire. Desirea Winn did a fantastic job of coming off the bench and her defensive play definitely got her team going. She had her best game of the season forcing multiple turnovers by Shiner, scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds. Alisha Officer did a great job of attacking the basket scoring 11 points and getting to the free throw line five times and shooting 70 percent. Andrea McKinney put together another strong effort inside the paint grabbing eight rebounds. Brandy Stacks also did a good job coming in and adding some intensity on the game’s defensive effort. Overall the tournament was great for us to get to learn together, grow as a team, and as individuals.”

Hill made the All-Tournament Team scoring 34 points in the tourney and shooting 35.3 percent from the three-point line.

The Lady Lions faced Yoakum at home on Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. Check next week’s Post-Register for the score and highlights.

(Courtesy of Melissa Fisher)