Lady Jackets show their resiliency

MARBLE FALLS — The Llano High School girls basketball team suffered another close loss to end its run in the American Bank of Texas Girls Basketball Tournament hosted by Marble Falls High School Nov. 15.

This time the Lady Jackets lost to Austin Westlake, 59-56.

“We played strong to the finish,” head coach Jessica Quintanilla said. “It was a great defensive effort. We were down double digits, and the kids never quit.”

Llano was losing, 48-35, 30 seconds into the final period. But Allie Rostron and Caitlyn Coffey scored inside the paint. 

After Westlake hit a jumper, Lauren Parker hit a three, while Coffey scored on an offensive rebound. 

After Ashley Schroeder was fouled, officials gave the Westlake bench a technical foul. Schroeder hit all four free throws to trim the deficit, 50-48, with 2:56 remaining.

Olivia Hutto hit a three-pointer, but Westlake answered with a putback to regain the lead, 53-51.

Coffey was fouled and hit the front end, but the Lady Chaps were issued a technical foul. Schroeder hit both for a 54-53 lead. 

Llano was called for traveling, and Westlake hit a three-footer for a 55-54 lead. 

The Lady Chaps hit two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, 57-54.

Parker shot a three, but Hutto rebounded the miss to trim the lead, 57-56, with four seconds remaining.

“Lauren got another good look at it,” Quintanilla said. “Olivia had a putback. We were still down and had to foul.”

Westlake scored two free throws for the win.

Rostron gave Llano its first lead, 6-4, at the 5:00 mark of the first period. Parker passed to Coffey on the block for an 8-4 lead.

But Westlake scored the next 11 to take a 15-8 lead. Rostron scored two free throws to trim the score, 15-10.

Parker found Rostron for a shot under the basket to start the second period.

But Westlake went on a 9-2 run that was snapped when Kirsty Fogelberg stole the ball for a layup. Fogelberg passed to Schroeder for a three-pointer, while Kallie Johanson grabbed a tipped ball for a layup.

Parker threw a cross-court pass to Rostron for a layup, but Westlake added a bucket before the buzzer sounded for a 28-23 halftime lead.

The Lady Chaps outscored Llano, 18-12, in the third period to set up the decisive fourth quarter. 

Quintanilla credited her players, especially Schroeder, for connecting on some key free throws to give Llano a chance at the win.

Westlake went to its stall offense to run out the clock, and Quintanilla said the Lady Jackets were trying to make someone other than the Lady Chaps’ posts beat them.

“Allie played 32 minutes,” she said. “She played hard from start to finish.”

Her players’ resiliency is what impressed the coach most. 

“I think they see what our potential is,” she said. 

Parker said the Lady Jackets discovered a lot about themselves. The biggest attribute is mental toughness.

“We can play up,” she said. “No matter what, our intensity level can rise.”

She credited Rostron, Schroeder and Coffey for hitting key shots down the stretch to give Llano a chance to win.

“We’re getting in the groove and learning how to play together,” she said.

jfierro@thepicayune.com

Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images