The No. 13 Brownwood Lady Lions held the Hamilton Lady Bulldogs without a point the first 5:11 of the contest, then pitched another shutout for an 11:29 span during the second half en route to a 35-17 home victory Friday night at Warren Gym.
“We didn’t particularly shoot the ball very well, we went through spurts where we’d score a little bit and then we’d go through stretches where we didn’t, but our defense held its own,” said Lady Lions head coach Heather Hohertz. “We rotated pretty well, when we missed some assignments they capitalized, but a tip of the hat to our girls because there were very few missed assignments.”
The Lady Lions (12-3) drained their first three three-point attempts of the contest and led 10-0 midway through the first period, but finished the game converting just 26 percent (12 of 26) of their shots, including 14 percent (3 of 21) of their trey. Brownwood did knock down 67 percent (8 of 12) of its free throws, however, with most coming in the second half.
“One thing I’ve really harped on and don’t like to see from this team is inconsistency,” Hohertz said. “We came out hot, 10-0 lead, and then the next quarter and a half we score seven points. Obviously we can’t let that happen. We have to continue to push, but Hamilton slowed us down with their zone scramble and their press. We just didn’t get very many transition layups tonight.”
Trinity Roberts scored a team-high 12 points for the Lady Lions followed by Jade Morin with eight, Jentry Coalson with four, Lanie Johnson and Nylah Hall with three apiece, Abby Brasher and Icess Hall with two each, and Hannah Deen contributed one point.
For Hamilton (7-5), Avery Arledge was the top scorer with five points and Henlee Wagner added four.
Roberts hit back-to-back treys to give Brownwood a 6-0 lead just 1:09 into the contest. Roberts later sank a free throw ahead of a Nylah Hall triple, which made the score 10-0 at the 4:05 mark of the first period. When the quarter was over, Hamilton had closed the gap to 10-5, and at halftime Brownwood was in front 17-8.
“I addressed our percentages at halftime and told them the one thing we can control is the free throw line, and they really stepped up,” Hohertz said. “But we have to be more consistent with our shooting whether it’s the free throw line, three-point line, layups, mid-range, wherever it may be.”
Hamilton tallied the first three points of the second half to creep within 17-11 at the 6:40 mark of the third period. The Lady Bulldogs, however, did not score again until 3:11 remained in the contest – a span of almost 12 minutes – which allowed Brownwood to build a 30-11 advantage. Five of Brownwood’s 13 points during the surge came from the line, as the Lady Lions sank 6 of 8 free throws in the second half.
Brownwood’s lead peaked at 20 points, 33-13, on a traditional three-point play by Johnson with 2:36 left in the contest.
The Lady Lions are back in action at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Junction against Class 4A No. 17 La Vernia (13-4).
