Lady Blues’ Senior Night ends with 22-19 loss to Mineral Wells

It was a battle of the defenses during Graham’s Senior Night match-up Friday, Jan. 19 with Mineral Wells.

Despite leading for most of the game, the Lady Blues fell to the Lady Rams’ comeback and took the loss 22-19.

In one of the lower-scoring games of the season, both Graham and Mineral Wells brought tough defenses to the court which caused a lot of problems on the offensive end for both sides. Teams struggled with turnovers and found it difficult to get good shots all game.

Graham got off to a strong start after winning the opening tip-off as they scored within the opening minutes on two points from senior Hannah Williams. A few minutes later, junior Emi Gordy got on the board after she got fouled and took and made two free throws.

The Lady Blues opened up a 5-0 lead and it wasn’t until there was 2:49 left in the first quarter that Mineral Wells scored their first points of the game. While Graham played solid defense, they still found themselves in foul trouble and the Lady Rams earned two points off free throws.

Junior Rebecca McGregor knocked down the team’s first 3-pointer and by the end of the first quarter Graham led 8-4 and was well in control.

The second quarter is where things slowed down for both teams. In the quarter, each team scored just two points. The Lady Blues got theirs in the first minute on a turnaround jump hook from Gordy.

The Lady Rams didn’t score until the end of the period so Graham held the lead at 10-6 going into halftime.

Graham received their offense from just four players in this game. Williams, Gordy, McGregor and senior Maddie Franklin were the only four Lady Blues to record points, as getting the shots to fall was difficult for everyone all night.

Coming out of the half, Mineral Wells found a bit more offense than Graham as the Lady Rams outscored the Lady Blues 8-4 in the third quarter. Williams got the ball rolling with a 3-pointer, her first and the team’s second in the game.

The teams continued to trade missed shots for a while before Mineral Wells began to pull things close. Gordy went 1-of-2 on a trip to the free throw line to make it 14-10 a little more than halfway through the quarter. But the Lady Rams got a few more shots to fall, mainly on layups at the rim, and the two teams went into the final period tied 14-14.

Mineral Wells’ momentum continued at the start of the fourth quarter as they took their first lead of the game thanks to a free throw and a 2-pointer. Franklin scored her only two points of the evening after being in perfect position for an offensive rebound and putting it back up while getting fouled.

The visiting Lady Rams extended their lead to 20-16 which put more pressure on Graham to break out of their offensive funk. The Lady Blues stayed aggressive and earned more free throws, as Gordy and McGregor pulled the team within one point at 20-19.

But with the clock winding down, Graham was forced to foul which helped Mineral Wells get the lead to 22-19. As time expired, a last-second heave from Franklin fell short and the Lady Rams walked away with the win.

Following the game, Graham’s three seniors — Madi Wilde, Franklin and Williams — were honored for their time spent in the Lady Blues’ program as each player has made numerous contributions to this team.

The Lady Blues’ next game will be Friday, Jan. 26 at home against Stephenville with tipoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m.