Lady Blues can’t overcome Stephenville’s shooting in loss

It’s never easy to win a game when the opponent is knocking down deep 3-pointers all game and that’s what happened to the Graham Lady Blues when they faced the Stephenville Honeybees this past week.

In a district matchup between the two teams Friday, Jan. 26, the visiting Honeybees came out on top over the Lady Blues 49-25 thanks primarily to their 3-point shooting.

The Lady Blues dealt with some offensive cold stretches and couldn’t get the necessary defensive stops at the right time.

However, Graham took an early lead from the start of the game as junior Rebecca McGregor kicked things off with a 3-pointer assisted by senior Madi Wilde. A few plays later, junior Emi Gordy scored a tough 2-pointer in the lane to put Graham up 5-0.

Stephenville knocked down their first 3-pointer of the game to make it 5-3 before McGregor earned a trip to the free throw line to make it 7-3. But from there, Graham cooled off slightly while the Honeybees began to make their shots.

By the end of the first quarter, Stephenville led 13-9, which included a last-second deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend that lead. Of the Honeybees’ 13 first-quarter points, 12 of them came from behind the arc.

Heading into the second quarter the Lady Blues ran into a cold patch while the Honeybees continued to build on the lead. McGregor scored early in the frame after stealing the ball and taking it the length of the court for a fastbreak layup. But Graham’s scoring slowed down there.

The rest of the quarter, the Lady Blues couldn’t get a shot to fall, and their trips to the free throw line yielded no positive results either. Meanwhile, Stephenville moved the ball around well and found open shooters for points. As the teams went into halftime, the Lady Blues trailed 26-11.

The second half saw Graham running into similar struggles offensively. When the players were getting looks at the basket, the shots simply wouldn’t fall. It wasn’t until midway through the third quarter that sophomore Mayci Ryans hit a mid-range 2-pointer to end the scoring drought.

McGregor later hit her second 3-pointer of the game near the end of the period off an assist from junior Fayth Bryer. But the Lady Blues still faced a large deficit at 38-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the final frame, Graham received scoring from multiple players as they fought to stay in the game. McGregor made two more free throws, followed later by a 2-pointer from sophomore Briley Randall, her first points of the game.

Freshman Addyson Weaver joined in the scoring when she knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing midway through the quarter. While the Lady Blues tried their best to pull back, Stephenville’s 3-point shooting early on had built them an insurmountable lead.

As the final buzzer sounded, the visiting Honeybees had earned the 49-25 district win over the Lady Blues. Graham fell to 1-4 in district play while Stephenville moved to 4-2 with a few games left to play.

McGregor was the only Lady Blues player to reach double-digits in scoring in this game as she led the team with 12 points, followed by Gordy and Weaver with 4 points each. Weaver also pulled down seven rebounds while Gordy had six.

The next home game will be at 5:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2 against Glen Rose.