In their final game at Warren Gym this season, the No. 8 Brownwood Lady Lions held their sixth opponent below 20 points and set up a showdown for the District 6-4A championship.
Clinging to a 14-10 advantage midway through the second period, the Lady Lions allowed a mere five points over the final 20:28 of the contest en route to a 45-15 victory over the Graham Lady Steers to remain one game back of No. 3 Brock in the 6-4A standings.
“We came in and we weren’t the focused group that I thought we would be, we were a little bit distracted there in the first quarter,” said Lady Lions head coach Heather Hohertz. “I got on to them a little bit at halftime and they turned it on in the third quarter. Graham come out early and played really hard and good things were happening because they were playing hard. In the first half I feel like they outplayed us. Our defense wasn’t rotating or grabbing the ball on the rebounds, so that had to be addressed at halftime and I thought my kids responded really well to that.”
Brownwood (28-4, 8-1) closed the first half on a 13-2 run for a 27-12 halftime edge, then held Graham (8-22, 0-9) scoreless in the third period en route to a 39-12 cushion heading to the fourth period.
“They really got in the mindset of being active with their feet, getting tips on balls, and that allowed us to get out in transition and that’s what we do best,” ,” Hohertz said. “That really helped us open up the game.”
Offensively, the Lady Lions converted 33 percent (18 of 54) of their field goals, but only 19 percent (4 of 21) of their three-pointers, and 35 percent (5 of 14) of their free throws. Brownwood did grab 25 rebounds,, however, and created 14 steals.
Nylah Hall and Jaidyn Hope paced the offense with eight points each trailed by seven apiece from Icess Hall and Hannah Deen, four each from Jade Morin and Demayha Hooker, three apiece from Jentry Coalson and Cambree Jefferson, and one point from Lanie Johnson.
Friday night marked the final home games in the careers of Johnson, Morin, Deen and Icess Hall.
“Every year Senior Night is tough, some years are tougher than others and this is one of those years,” Hohertz said. “I started with Hannah and Icess when they were sixth graders playing tournament ball. Both of them have been on varsity since they were freshmen, and you can’t replace those kids. I’m always going to cherish the relationships that we have on and off the court and the bond we created. I was fortunate enough to get Lanie and Jade as juniors, and I wish I could have coached both of them a little longer. The Lord had a reason why they moved to Brownwood and I’m thankful I was able to be in their lives for two years. They’ve meant so much to me and my family, and my girls especially. Those are relationships are the ones you want to have with kids on and off the court, and those are the things I’m going to remember about them. As much as I’ve been hard on them and coached them hard, they mean the world to me just like my own kids, and I’m thankful I was able to have those four.”
The Lady Lions visit Brock (26-5, 9-0) at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday where a victory would result in a split of the District 6-4A championship. Brownwood then begins Class 4A Division I playoff action at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 16 against Lubbock Estacado in bi-district competition at McMurry University in Abilene.
“We’re going to treat this as another business trip, and our first business trip to try and get a gold ball, that’s how we’re going to prepare,” Hohertz said. “We were so close last time. If we can fix a few things and again do the things we did well the first time, we’re going to give ourselves a chance. We’ll put the game plan in Monday and roll up our sleeves and get to work and play hard and go try and get a share of the district championship.”
