Lady Blues’ season ends with loss at Mineral Wells

In the battle for the final playoff spot in the district, the Graham Lady Blues gave it their all but ultimately saw their season come to an end with a 31-24 loss to the Mineral Wells Lady Rams.

Both teams came into the final regular season game tied for fourth in the district with a 1-6 record. The winner would get the fourth and final playoff spot while the loser would end in fifth and miss the playoffs.

It came down to the final minutes of the game but the Lady Blues couldn’t muster the offense necessary to pull out the win and extend their season. With the loss, Graham finished 1-7 in district for fifth place.

Offense has been something the Lady Blues have struggled to consistently find all season. While they played strong defense to open the game, it took nearly the entire first quarter before they recorded their first made basket.

Junior Emi Gordy got the scoring started after she got fouled midway through the quarter and made 1-of-2 free throws. In the final minute of the period, junior Fayth Bryer got into the lane and banked a shot off the glass tied for two points and to tie the game at 3-3. By the end of the quarter, Mineral Wells led 5-3.

The home team Lady Rams found some offense in the second quarter to extend their lead over the Lady Blues. Mineral Wells pushed the lead to 9-3 before Gordy scored two more points on an assist from sophomore Mayci Ryans.

A few minutes later, junior Rebecca McGregor knocked down the team’s first 3-pointer of the game off an assist from Bryer. The junior hit the shot with multiple defenders in her face which helped close the gap slightly.

However, that was the last scoring Graham would manage in the first half while Mineral Wells pushed the lead to 17-8 as the halftime buzzer sounded.

The Lady Blues came out aggressive in the second half, attacking the rim and looking to score at the basket against the home team. This led to a lot of free throws for Graham, but they still struggled to take full advantage of the opportunity.

Graham entered the bonus in the third quarter with 5:17 to play. In the whole period, the Lady Blues shot 12 free throws but only made five of them. Mineral Wells only scored two points in the quarter, but despite a banked 3-pointer from senior Madi Wilde at the end, the Lady Rams led 19-16 heading into the fourth quarter.

Despite the uphill battle, the Lady Blues continued to fight and they managed to tie the game in the first half of the fourth quarter. Ryans got fouled on a shot and one of Mineral Wells’ players was called for a technical foul for slamming the ball in frustration.

Ryans went 1-of-2 from the free throw line and Gordy knocked down both technical free throws to tie the game at 19-19 with 4:17 to play. But from there, the Lady Rams went on a 12-5 run in the final minutes to retake the lead and send Graham home with the loss.

Gordy led the team in scoring in the final game with 7 points and 10 rebounds. Bryer finished with 6 points, McGregor had 5 points, Wilde had 3 points, Ryans ended with 2 points and sophomore Briley Randall pitched in 1 point.

The Lady Blues finished the season with a 12-20 record overall while going 1-7 in district. The team will have three seniors graduating in Hannah Williams, Maddie Franklin and Madi Wilde. Graham’s team fought hard all year and will look to have even more success in the future.