Lady Mustangs miss late shots in loss to Temple
Marble Falls High School junior varsity post Brynn Reeder dribbles away from the basket after grabbing a defensive rebound to help her squad beat Temple 25-23. Reeder led the junior varsity team with 12 points.
JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team had two different opportunities to tie or win the game Nov. 18 against Temple in the final 40 seconds. But a foul shot was missed and a two-foot jumper rolled off the rim.
It was that kind of night for the Lady Mustangs in their 41-39 loss.
Marble Falls head coach Chris Jost noted Temple simply made the shots they had to have down the stretch, particularly hitting one of two foul shots in the final 2.3 seconds.
“We had a hard time finding the basket, we had turnovers,” he said. “Our effort kept us in the game.”
The Wildcats looked like they were going to pull away in the second half after leading 11-10 after the first quarter and 19-15 at the half.
Temple built a 26-18 lead midway through the third period. But the Lady Mustangs began trading baskets with the Wildcats for a 31-24 deficit.
Marble Falls opened the final period by going on a 10-2 run for a 34-33 lead thanks to free throws by senior guard Stephanie Ribera.
That’s when the two began exchanging baskets with one-shot possessions. The Lady Mustangs picked up the defensive intensity by forcing turnovers and outrunning the opponent to score fast-break buckets. The ball simply didn’t fall in the hoop in the final seconds.
Marble Falls also did not make a 3-pointer, missing at least 10 during the contest. Jost said part of that was his players’ shooting forms weren’t quite right, which could be the result of facing players who are naturally quick and unafraid of being aggressive in the defensive end. Temple gave very few open looks and made an effort to block shots close to the rim.
Jost said Temple looked as if it was going to turn a single-digit lead into a blowout, but his players didn’t allow that to happen.
“There are so many things to work on,” he said. “But not effort. I thought everyone who came in played hard.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
ON OFFENSE: Points – (Marble Falls) Molly Myrick 9, Aspen Woerner 8, Reann Hall 7, Stephanie Ribera 5, Yvonne Espinosa 4, Aubrey Adams 2, Tiffany Dunavant 2, Sydney Gibson 2; (Temple) Cienna Womack 14, Isabella Rodriguez 9, Toriana President 5, Kiantra Flowers 4, Kamea McGee 4, Kennedy Wilson 3, Tia Thomas 2
SUBVARSITY: The Marble Falls junior varsity defeated Temple 25-23 thanks to making three defensive stands on three different possessions and limiting the opponent to one shot per possession. The Marble Falls freshmen won 38-24.
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 1-1.
UP NEXT: American Bank of Texas Tournament — 10:30 a.m. Nov. 20, Marble Falls vs. Austin Lanier; 10:30 a.m. Nov. 21, Marble Falls vs. Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, all at Max Copeland Gym, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls