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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Katy McGeehee of the Lady Blues jumps over Mineral Wells defenders as she attempts a shot Friday, Jan. 17. The Graham team picked up its first district win during the midpoint of their schedule. -
THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER Savannah Fricks of the Lady Blues attempts a shot during the game Friday, Jan. 17 against the Mineral Wells Lady Rams. -
(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Addyson Weaver looks for an open Lady Blues teammate during the Friday, Jan. 17 matchup against Mineral Wells. The game was a close match between the two teams before Graham pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The Mineral Wells Lady Rams brought a fight to the court last Friday, but a fourth-quarter boost from the Lady Blues brought them their first district win.
With the exception of the last quarter, the game was too close to call for the first three quarters. The Graham and Mineral Wells teams played a defensive game while fighting missed shots and fouls.
Both teams ended the first quarter with only a couple of shots and the Graham team was down by four points. That was not the end for the Lady Blues who fought to achieve a victory after struggling with past district opponents.
Lady Blues head coach Baylee Thompson said the team will have to work on shooting, but its defensive effort played a key part in the victory Friday, Jan. 17.
“We started out a little slow, only having four points in the first quarter so that’s hard in any quarter. But we finally found our groove, started moving a little better on defense. And so really, truly, playing harder on defense helped translate to more points,” Thompson said.
With 2-point shots from Fayth Bryer, Katy McGeehee, Addyson Weaver, Hallie Gough and made free throws from Briley Randall and McGeehee, the Graham team managed to tie the score and hold the Lady Rams moving into the second half at 15-15.
Both teams brought a ferocity moving into the second half, with another 13 points made by the Lady Blues, led by Randall with two 2-point shots, with made free throws from Weaver, a 3-point shot from Rebecca McGregor and 2-point shots from Bryer and Ava Street.
Moving into the fourth quarter the Graham team was finally ahead, if only by one point, with the score at 28-27.
The fourth quarter is where things changed for the Lady Blues, who managed to hold the Lady Rams to only three additional points while scoring a total of 12 to push far enough ahead to achieve their win.
A number of fouls from the Mineral Wells team in the fourth quarter helped push the Graham team forward.
In total, the Lady Blues had 22 free throw attempts made at the end of the matchup, but only six of those attempts were good.
Along with free throws, two 2-point shots from McGeehee and one from Bryer also helped to push the team 10 points ahead of the Lady Rams and to their first district victory with the game at 40-30.
Leading in scoring for the Lady Blues was McGeehee with 11 points, followed by Bryer with 10 points, Randall with six points, McGregor with four points, and Gough and Street with two points each.
After another home matchup Tuesday, Jan. 21 against Glen Rose, the team will travel Friday, Jan. 24 to face Stephenville as the team works through the second half of its district schedule.
