Lady Broncos clobber the Patriots

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos made short work of Valley Tuesday night as they brought home a big win over the Lady Pats at 66-48.

Solid play and aggressiveness helped the ladies get the victory and continue their winning streak. The ladies jumped on the Lady Patriots early and stifled their offense in the first quarter of the game. They used the break to recover somewhat and came out in the third period to play tough and solid basketball. A huge third quarter sealed the win for the Lady Broncos.

“The Valley game was a very scrappy game,” head coach Molly Weatherred said. “I thought the girls did a great job handling this type of ball game. We shot really good from the three, which was a huge key to winning the ball game. I thought our defense did a good job making them take some tough shots.”

Ryann Starnes hit two three-pointers and went two for two from the bonus to lead the Lady Broncos on the scoreboard. The ladies shot 66% from the free throw line.

Scoring: Starnes 14, Jentry Shadle 9, McKayla Cartwright 9, Taylor Gaines 7, Camra Smith 7, Deborah Hoard 6, Lydia Howard 6, Anna Ceniceros 3, Audrey Shelton 3, and Jency Burton 2.

The Lady Broncos also participated in the Canadian Tournament December 27 and finished second to the host team.

They took on Stratford in the first round and clobbered them 64-52. The ladies took control early and kept up the momentum throughout the game. Several Lady Broncos contributed to the win on the scoreboard with Shadle and Cartwright leading the way in double figures.

Scoring: Shadle 12, Cartwright 11, Gaines 9, D. Howard 9, Starnes 8, Burton 7, Smith 4, Ceniceros 2, and L. Howard 2.

The win over Stratford put the ladies in a matchup with Borger in the second round. After overcoming a first quarter deficit, the ladies regrouped and defeated the Lady Bulldogs 50-46. The Lady Broncos trailed by one at the break, but hustled back to take the lead by one after three. They were able to stay consistent and get the win. Cartwright exploded inside and accounted for 21 points in the win.

Also scoring: D. Howard 9, Gaines 8, Burton 5, Ceniceros 3, Skyler White 2, Starnes 1, and L. Howard 1.

With two wins, the Lady Broncos held a lot of momentum going into the Championship game against Canadian. Despite playing hard, the ladies fell 42-49. The game was close in the first half of play with just one point separating the teams. But the Lady Cats grabbed the upper hand in the third period, which gave them the lead and the win. Weatherred thought the ladies played hard in the tournament.

“We were a little short handed,” Weatherred said. “Jentry went out in the first game with a rolled ankle and others had the flu. Overall they played well despite some adversity.”

The ladies are anxious to get on with their schedule after the break.

“It was nice to get back in the gym after our days off,” Weatherred said. “We were a little sloppy and out of shape, but we played hard and got back into things. It will be good to get on a roll before our District season starts.”

Scoring: Cartwright 17, Gaines 9, D. Howard 6, Ceniceros 5, Starnes 2, Shelton 2, and Burton 1.

The ladies will travel to San Jacinto on Friday, January 4, and play at 7:30 p.m. and begin their district schedule at home on January 8 against Claude.