It’s round four
“They’re a good team,” Lady Mustangs coach Stephanie Gamble said. “They’re going to be very athletic. It’s a tough contest. Everyone is going to have to step up and do their part.”
Both teams are ranked in the top 12 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Association’s Class 4A poll.
The contest will feature two Division I-A players, Marble Falls’ Katy Cooke and Del Valle’s Shanay Washington.
Cooke signed to play for Tennessee Tech, while Washington signed with Baylor University.
“(Washington) can pop outside and shoot it or she can post up,” Gamble said.
Observers have watched Washington since she was a freshman during the 2005-2006 season.
She helped the Lady Cardinals reach the No. 1 ranking in the TABC Class 4A poll that season.
But during the area round of the playoffs, the Lady Mustangs eliminated Del Valle just to fall to Kerrville Tivy in the next round.
In 2006-2007, the two played twice. Del Valle won in November in a nondistrict contest. But Marble Falls won the rematch in the regional quarterfinals, 37-24, and eventually reached the Class 4A state tournament.
Washington, who had averaged 25 points a game, was limited to five.
Gamble said she and head coach Tawni Angel each had an open date. One of the two posted a desire for a game tonight, she said.
“She doesn’t back down from competition,” the Lady Mustangs coach said. “I don’t back down from competition.”
The Lady Mustangs have already scouted the Lady Cardinals. Del Valle was in the American Bank of Texas Girls Basketball Tournament hosted by Marble Falls two weeks ago.
The Lady Cardinals lost in the first round to New Braunfels but performed well the rest of the tournament.
Washington, who was a power forward as a freshman, has worked on her outside game.
“Both teams have made it to the playoffs, which says a lot for the programs and caliber of athletes,” Gamble said. “It should be a great matchup and come down to the wire.”
Marble Falls will enter the contest with some momentum. The Lady Mustangs beat Austin McCallum, 56-30, Tuesday.
Marble Falls only gave up six points in the final 16 minutes.
“We just did some outstanding things in that half,” Gamble said. “It was probably the best half or the most complete half we’ve played. We did a good job of pushing the ball, coming around and deflecting passes.”
The players rotated to spots, and junior post Lindsay Ansley had several deflections to teammates for steals.
“Lindsay did a great job of tipping the ball away,” the coach said. “The other kids did a good job of getting them.”
The result was giving up only one shot per possession, she said.
On the offensive end, the Lady Mustangs went through their rotations and reads and converted, Gamble said.
“They played us man-to-man most of the night,” she said. “The girls did a good job executing. We did get a few layups. We had a few dribble-drives we didn’t take advantage of.”
That was a turnaround from the first half, which Gamble called “very ugly.”
“We had 13 turnovers in the first half,” she said. “They weren’t pressing us. We had 19 for the game, so the first half was brutal.”
Ansley finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds, while Katie Mosher scored 13 points, had six assists and pulled down 14 rebounds. Katy Cooke had nine assists, eight points and 13 rebounds.
Ansley and Cooke are looking forward to facing the Lady Cardinals.
“It’s going to be a good game,” Ansley said. “It’s going to matter who stays in the game and not getting dumb fouls. We’ll see how it goes.”
Katy Cooke said the game will allow Marble Falls to learn more about themselves.
“I look at it as another game with good competition,” she said. “It’s another good game and a chance to better ourselves. We’ll be ready for a fight.”