Momentum slips as Lady Blues fall to Brownwood

Though the final score may not indicate as such, the Graham Lady Blues played a close game for nearly three quarters against the Brownwood Lady Lions before ultimately taking a 55-33 loss.

It wasn’t until there were just a few minutes remaining in the third quarter Tuesday, Jan. 30 that the home-team Lady Lions began to pull away from the visiting Lady Blues. Graham’s defense started to slip and Brownwood took advantage of fast-break opportunities en route to the win.

But for about 21 minutes of game time Tuesday, the Lady Blues were right there in it with the Lady Lions.
The two teams started out going back and forth in the beginning of the game, starting with senior Hannah Williams knocking down a mid-range jump shot for the first points of the contest. Junior Emi Gordy scored the next four points followed by senior Maddie Franklin finding the bottom of the basket.

Junior Fayth Bryer scored the team’s final points of the first quarter as the Lady Blues distributed the ball and the scoring duties among a variety of players. But Brownwood had similar success and the two teams were tied 10-10 after one quarter.

The Lady Blues were active on defense, getting in passing lanes and deflecting balls when possible. Franklin opened up the second quarter by stealing the ball, taking it the length of the court and finishing with a floater near the rim.

Graham steadily built up a small lead over Brownwood as Franklin and Gordy recorded points in close before junior Rebecca McGregor knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing to give the team a 19-14 lead midway through the quarter.

But Brownwood continued to chip away and eventually pulled even at 19-19. Gordy had a 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line to go up one point but the Lady Lions scored a couple more times before the end of the half to lead 23-20 going into the break.

While they faced a small halftime deficit, the Lady Blues had been playing one of their better games as of recently. The team was knocking down shots and had a good flow on both sides of the ball and they looked to keep that going in the second half.

Sophomore Mayci Ryans helped McGregor open the second half scoring with a pass for a long 2-pointer. Ryans didn’t score in the game but led the team with six assists, making her abilities felt on the offensive side of the ball.

The teams continued to trade leads for a few minutes and midway through the third quarter the Lady Blues trailed 28-27 after a bucket from Franklin. But Brownwood hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the lead and began to pull away.

Meanwhile, Graham went through a string of offensive miscues which turned into more Brownwood points and the home-team Lady Lions led 41-29 after the third quarter.

As they fought to get back into the game, the Lady Blues’ offense suffered.

The team managed just four points in the final quarter as the players pressed a bit. Brownwood had the momentum at this point and rode it to the victory.

Gordy had a big game for Graham as she finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, with five of those being offensive boards. Franklin had 9 points and three rebounds, while McGregor had 7 points, four rebounds and the team’s only 3-pointer of the night.

The Lady Blues will travel next Tuesday, Feb. 6 to Mineral Wells for another district matchup with the Lady Rams with tipoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m.