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(LIAM BAILEY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Addyson Weaver looks for an open teammate while being blocked by a Brock defender Tuesday, Jan. 28. While the team improved it is rematch against Brock, it fell 26-46 in the home matchup. -
(LIAM BAILEY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Bentleigh Martin moves down the court to make a play against Brock during the team’s rematch Tuesday, Jan. 29. The Lady Blues fought hard and improved from their previous matchup but ultimately fell 26-46. -
(LIAM BAILEY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Fayth Bryer jumps at the net to put points on the board Tuesday, Jan. 28 for the Lady Blues. The Graham team had a rematch against Brock at home and fell 26-46.
Growth was the name of the game for both of Graham’s teams this week against Brock and the Lady Blues were dedicated to holding the Lady Eagles in their rematch.
While the team fell to the team 26-46, the score was much improved from their previous matchup at the beginning of January which ended at 80-27. One of the areas of emphasis the team worked on for their rematch was stopping 3-point shots which doomed them in their previous game.
“That is a little personal when somebody is hitting 15 threes on you. That's our fault, and so our goal (was) to run them off the three-point line. They listened and they did take it personal, and I'm glad they did. They fixed it so we were in the game most of the game,” head coach Baylee Thompson said. “...Brock ended up pulling away, they're a great team, but I was proud of how well my girls were hustling and getting after it.”
Things were already improved in the first quarter for the Lady Blues this game with Katelyn McGehee scoring a 2-point shot and two free throw shots and Addyson Weaver putting another two points on the board.
At the end of the first quarter, the game had only a five-point difference between the two teams, with the Lady Blues down. This was a completely different game than the first Brock matchup which at the end of the first quarter was at 4-23.
“Our confidence has been our biggest problem all season long, and so we've just been working and working and working trying to improve our confidence,” Thompson said. “We have a long way to go, but I've seen that grow the most.”
That confidence continued to hold the Lady Eagles to 14 points into the half while McGehee, Weaver, Rebecca McGregor and Briley Randall put another nine points on the board to bring the game to 15-25.
The game was still too close to call with only 10 points between the teams moving into the second half, a stark contrast to the 6-43 score they faced at the beginning January.
The defense and offense held strong into the third quarter with Fayth Bryer, McGregor and Randall contributing another seven points, while the Lady Blues held Brock to only nine points.
“We've had a pretty good defense,” Thompson said. “We played really good defense Tuesday, and so we work on that too to help with the confidence I was talking about earlier because I want them to feel confident in that.”
Things faltered for the team in the fourth quarter with the only points on a 2-point shot from McGregor and two made free throws from Ava Street and the team fell to the Lady Eagles.
Leading in scoring for the team was McGregor and McGehee who both had six points, followed by Randall and Weaver with five points and Bryer and Street with two points.
Though the Lady Blues were knocked out of the playoffs due to Brownwood toppling Stephenville, the team will have one remaining game on their district schedule.
After facing Brownwood at home Friday, Jan. 31, the team will travel Tuesday, Feb. 4 to Mineral Wells to close out their season.
