The No. 11 Brownwood Lady Lions extended their win streak to nine games as they opened the TexasBank Holiday Classic Monday at Warren Gym with a dominant 54-27 victory over Waco Connally, before rallying in the second half for a 35-22 triumph over Jarrell.
Trailing 20-18 in the nightcap to Jarrell with 1:56 left in the third period, the Lady Lions (17-3) did not surrender a point for the next 9:09, which triggered a decisive 17-0 run.
Nylah Hall drained back-to-back three-pointers to push Brownwood in front by its largest margin at that point, 24-20, with 1:14 to go in the third. She then added another bucket, and Icess Hall scored following an offensive rebound as the Lady Lions carried a 28-20 lead into the fourth quarter.
“In my opinion, Nylah is the one that’s made us go this year,” said Lady Lions 17th-year head coach Heather Hohertz. “When she’s scoring, we’re a really, really good team. When she got it going everyone started to feed off her and found ways to either get re We feed off her energy on the offensive end. She’s been a big time player for us a reason we’ve been so successful.”
Icess Hall led the team with nine points, Nylah Hall added eight, Jentry Coalson chipped in six, Jade Morin finished with five, Trinity Roberts tacked on four, Demayha Hooker contributed two points, and Lanie Johnson sank a free throw.
The Lady Lions overcame a 22 percent (13 of 60) shooting performance, including 10 percent (3 of 29) from three-point land and 35 percent (6 of 17) at the free throw line. Brownwood did pull down 35 rebounds, with 16 on the offensive end, and committed just 10 turnovers while recording eight steals.
“It was an adversity game, nothing was falling,” Hohertz said. “If you look at our percentages they were terrible, but I told them our defense is what was going to win the game. I feel like some of the bench came in and really stepped up and helped on the defensive end and rebounding-wise. We just got content with standing at the three-point line and shooting. We weren’t getting tips on balls or missed shots and getting out in transition and running, which is our strength, especially when we can’t knock down shots. They really took us out of that, but we finally got Nylah open in transition to hit some big shots for us.”
Jarrell (12-6), which converted only 4 of 14 free throws, was led by Cassy Immath with seven points and Princess Ifiveiesili and Deseray Benavidez with five points apiece. The Lady Cougars, who appeared in the TABC Class 4A state rankings earlier this season, led 10-6 after one quarter and were up by five points, 13-8, with 3:10 left in the second period before settling for a 15-14 advantage at intermission.
Against Connally (4-12) earlier Monday, the Lady Lions were dominant from start to finish. Brownwood led 12-2 after one quarter, 28-9 at halftime, and 40-23 heading to the final stanza.
Brownwood drained 32 percent (17 of 53) of its field goal attempts, 20 percent (4 of 20) of its treys, and 59 percent (16 of 27) of it free throws. The Lady Lions also grabbed 39 rebounds, recorded six steals and committed 12 turnovers.
Nylah Hall led the charge with 22 points, including 16 before halftime, followed by Icess Hall with 10, Morin with nine, Roberts with seven, Hooker with four, and Coalson with two points.
“I wasn’t pleased with our defensive effort, we stood too much,” Hohertz said of the Connally win. “There wasn’t a lot of movement offensively so it was hard to keep our feet moving, but I tell them you have to keep your feet moving even if the ball is not in your area. Offensively in the first game we came out and hit more shots, Nylah had 16 at halftime.”
The Lady Lions wrap up TexasBank Holiday Classic Big School Pool A action at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Brownwood Coliseum against Georgetown East View.
“The second game we were flat, we just didn’t have much energy and that can’t be the case coming off a five-day break,” Hohertz said. “I told them you faced adversity and found a way to win, but tomorrow has to be better.”
