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(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Teammates Briley Randall (33) and Fayth Bryer (13) jump together to try to block a shot from an Eastland player Tuesday, Dec. 3 in Graham’s 60-53 win over the Lady Mavs. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Lady Blues’ Ava Street (11) keeps her eye on the player in front of her while on defense Tuesday, Dec. 3 in Graham’s 60-52 win against Eastland. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Briley Randall puts up a shot over the arms of a couple of Eastland defenders Tuesday, Dec. 3 during the first half of Graham’s 60-53 win over Eastland. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Mayci Ryans (3) brings the ball up the court in transition with teammates around her during the team’s 60-53 win Tuesday, Dec. 3 over Eastland. -
(TC GORDON | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham’s Addyson Weaver makes a close layup past Eastland defenders Tuesday, Dec. 3 in the Lady Blues’ 60-53 win over the Lady Mavs.
Following a weeklong break, the Graham Lady Blues came back with one of their best offensive performances of the season in a 60-53 win over the Eastland Lady Mavs.
For a team that’s gone through hot and cold streaks in each game, the Lady Blues were solid across the board Tuesday night. The team scored 15 points in the first quarter, 14 in the second, 15 in the third and 16 in the fourth.
It was a sign of progress and maturity for head coach Baylee Thompson’s young team. Her team is learning to let the game come to them and sticking with what they know works.
“Great consistency. We started to calm down a little bit, and we've been talking about calming down for a while,” the head coach said. “Whenever we panic, we don't do good and it shows… So we've been talking about just calming down, knowing where the next pass is, and taking the time to look at the court.”
The Lady Blues jumped out to a fast lead that they never relinquished. Graham led off the game with two points from Fayth Bryer after an offensive rebound and putback. She scored another two points followed by Katie McGehee adding in two and Briley Randall knocking down a pair of free throws.
The Lady Blues held an 8-0 advantage before Eastland finally scored their first two points nearly six minutes into the game. The Lady Mavs had opportunities but missed most of their first shots.
Meanwhile, Graham’s offense continued steadily along with Rebecca McGregor and Ava Street getting in on the action with baskets of their own. At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Blues led 15-10.
On the other side of the ball, Graham’s girls played a tough brand of defense and made every Eastland basket count. Things got a little chippy on both sides with some hard fouls from each team.
It was another level of intensity that Thompson has been waiting to see from her team this season. The Lady Blues have had multiple games where their defense was strong and contributed to wins, and that was the case in this game as well.
“I've been looking for that… Make them uncomfortable. We don't want anyone comfortable when we’re playing defense,” Thompson said. “To see (my players) starting to embrace that, we look so much better as a team when we start causing turnovers.”
Addyson Weaver and McGregor did most of the scoring in the second quarter, with McGregor hitting the first 3-pointer of the day for the team. Graham went into the locker room at halftime leading 29-21.
Coming out of the break, the Lady Blues’ offense went back to work. After Eastland scored a basket early, Graham went on a 10-0 run over the next couple of minutes.
Weaver scored down low, McGregor finished a fastbreak layup with a foul, Mayci Ryans drained a 3-pointer and Randall earned two points on a transition layup as well. That offense fueled Graham and led to the biggest lead of the game heading into the fourth quarter at 44-29.
“Like I said, they're starting to calm down, not trying to force shots. (We’re running) through the offense, which we've been talking about,” Thompson said.
Eastland heated up a bit in the fourth quarter as Graham’s defense loosened up a bit. The Lady Blues missed some rotations which led to open baskets for the Lady Mavs.
Luckily, the team’s offense kept them in front, and the closest the home team got was within five points.
Six different Lady Blues scored in the fourth quarter, an example of the balanced offensive attack the team presented all game. Ryans and Weaver both had 3-pointers in the frame, and Weaver and Bryer both ended the game with a free throw each.
McGregor finished with a team-high 16 points followed by Weaver with 13 points and seven rebounds. Bryer ended with a near double-double as she recorded 9 points and 10 rebounds. Randall had 7 points and four rebounds and Ryans finished with 6 points.
Following the Lady Blues’ participation in the Haskell tournament over the weekend of Dec. 5-7, Graham will play at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10 on the road at Windthorst.
