Lady Lions lose close battle against Lady Rangers

Lady Lions lose close battle against Lady Rangers

The Lady Lions traveled to Cedar Park on Dec. 20 to take on the Lady Rangers in a District 26-4A contest. The Lady Lions, coming off of a 47-29 home opener, were looking forward to their second district game.

Both teams came out hot from the field. Senior post Whitney Winn scored eight points of her 15 total fo

r the game. Senior guards SueRe”esa Williams and Tara Chapman joined forces gathering four points to round out the scoring for the first quarter. Vista Ridge had three players combine for 15 points in the first quarter.

“We really wanted to get off to a good start in our first game on the road,” said head coach David Johnston.

In the second quarter, the Lady Lions continued their scoring run. Chapman hit two free throws and Winn hit three-of-four from the line plus a basket. The Lady Lions completed 12 of 18, 67 percent, from the free throw line for the game.

“Our free throw percentage as a team has been super this year,” Johnston said. “We will need to continue this type of effort in order to put games away.”
Ka”Tina Green dished out five assists and Winn completed two assists on backdoor passes to Williams.

The Lady Lions advanced the lead 16-15 in the first couple of minutes of play and later extended the lead to 30-24, which included Williams” successful 3-point shot at the buzzer.

Vista Ridge played aggressive defense and made Lockhart earn every point. Williams hit five more to add to the game high of 19 points. Chapman also added four points to the scoreboard and Noelle Marquina hit a shot at the buzzer to give the Lady Lions a 41-33 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“That was a great shot for Noelle,” Johnston said. “I can”t tell you how much her defensive play helped us tonight. We put her on the 6″2″ post and Noelle just played great defense all night and really made her work for everything. Noelle did her job for us. I”m proud of her.”
In the first minutes of the fourth quarter, both teams stepped up the defense and no points were scored.

With 6:15 to go on the clock, Vista Ridge made a steal and went coast to coast to cut the lead to a six-point difference. Both teams went a couple of possessions without scoring, when Vista Ridge hit a couple of free throws and started their comeback. With the Lady Lions ahead 41-37, Winn made a putback shot and was fouled. The free throw attempt went awry, but the Lady Lions still maintained a 43-37 lead.

Then Vista Ridge hit a baseline jumper and cut that lead down to four. On the next possession, Vista Ridge made a steal and was fouled. They only hit one of their two free throws, dissolving the Lady Lions” lead down to three.

With 2:00 left in the game, Lockhart”s missed shot attempt was capitalized by Vista Ridge, who cut the lead to 43-42. Then Lockhart held the ball and maintained possession until 38 seconds were left on the clock. The ball changed possession when Vista Ridge trapped and ultimately tied up the ball with Lockhart. The Lady Lions defended for 17 seconds when Vista Ridge got free and hit a jumper to advance their score to 44-43. Lockhart fouled Vista Ridge once again, sending them back to the free-throw line and finishing the scoring at 46-43.

“I just felt so bad for the girls,” Johnston said. “They came in and really played hard all night and battled and were so hungry to take a win on the road. Then just a couple of calls late in the game that went against us and it was over. They were all warriors tonight and I”m very proud of them. We cannot wait until we get them (Vista Ridge) at our house.”

The Lady Lions are now 1-1 in district play.
(Courtesy of David Johnston)