Lady Stangs keep winning

MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team earned its second win of its own American Bank Tournament Friday.

This time the Lady Mustangs beat Manor, 47-42.

They will play in the semifinals at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, at Max Copeland Gym, 2101 Mustang Drive.

Head coach Stephanie Gamble said the reason for the close game came down to one factor.

“It’s not our offensive execution,” she said. “We do a great job offensively. We still had way too many turnovers. We’re not doing a good job securing the ball.”

Marble Falls took a 10-7 lead and added to it, building a 45-25 lead with less than six minutes remaining in the contest. 

But Manor went on a 15-0 run to trim the lead, 45-40, at the 2:00 mark.

Marble Falls used its motion offense to run 42 seconds off the clock. Point guard Katy Cooke went in for a layup after a pass from Erica DeLaHoya. 

Manor’s Kaylin Monroe was fouled while attempting a three-pointer with 53 seconds remaining. She hit the first two shots but missed the third. 

As another Manor player was about to shoot, Cooke blocked the shot with about 10 seconds left to ensure the win.

“Their players really agitated us,” Gamble said. “Even when we had the ball, they never stopped.”

The coach gave Manor credit.

“They hit some very good shots,” she said. “We were in their face. I think they hit some good shots.”

She noted her players stopped dribble drives, but Manor athletes passed to open players who hit shots. 

Manor used a half-court trap to bother ballhandlers. Using their quickness, they were able to score layups to trim the deficit. 

“We tried to go into our dressing room and relax a little bit today,” the Marble Falls coach said. “We just aren’t doing a good job securing the ball.”

Marble Falls built a 5-0 lead thanks to a half-court pass from Amanda Gray to Katie Mosher for a layup. Lindsay Ansley scored a free throw and Mosher used a power dribble to score thanks to another Gray assist.

Cooke added two free throws and later found Gray under the basket for a 10-5 lead.

But Manor scored the last four points to trim the deficit, 10-9.

Cooke dropped in three free throws and completed a three-point play to start the second stanza. 

Marble Falls increased the lead thanks to two Gray buckets and used free throws from Kimi Hicks and Cooke for a 26-16 lead.

The two teams exchanged scores to start their third period. 

But Marble Falls used an 8-2 run to close out the quarter with buckets from Gray and Ansley and a 40-23 lead.

Ansley scored a bucket to begin the fourth quarter, and Mosher passed to Cooke for a three with 5:50 remaining. 

Cooke led Marble Falls with 17 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals. Gray finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, all unofficially.

“As a team we did a great job of executing offensively,” Gamble said.  

jfierro@thepicayune.com

Photo by Virgil Belk/Hill Country Sports Images