7th L.Mules vs. Abr (12-16-13)

7th L.Mules vs. Abr (12-16-13)

It took the seventh grade Lady Mules almost four minutes of the opening period Monday evening to get their offense cranked and running smooth. The Lady Mule defense was strong and held the Lady Lopes of Abernathy down while they got their engine running. 

Abernathy scored first and Citlalli Vargas finished a fast break to tie the game but the Lopes quickly answered to go ahead. Keely Dunham put back an offensive rebound to tie the game at 4-4 with two and half minutes left in the first quarter. 

Dunham again stuck back a rebound and then added a pair of free throws to put the Lady Mules ahead to stay with 1:36 on the clock. Abigail Boehning picked a Lopes’ pocket and drove the floor for a lay up to end the quarter with the Lady Mules leading 10-4. 

The Lady Mules almost hit the cruise control to early but went on to defeat the Lopes 29-21.

“The first half of this game was not as intense as we would have liked it to be,” said Lady Mule coach Jalissa King. “But the girls came out in the second half and played more assertively.” 

The quarter break settled Abernathy down and they came out firing. They made back-to-back baskets to chip away at the Lady Mule lead. Kyndal Miller broke the scoring run with a short jump shot in the lane. Abernathy scored three free throws to end the half trailing 12-11.

Dunham scored on an in bound play from the sideline to begin the second half. She added three free throws to give the Lady Mules some breathing room. Miller grabbed a rebound and fed the ball to Dunham for a basket. 

Miller put back a rebound to extend the Lady Mule lead to 21-11 before Abernathy scored with 3:30 on the clock in the third quarter. Dunham went coast-to-coast for a hoop before the Lopes scored the final two baskets of the quarter to trail 23-17 with one quarter left to play.

Miller sank a shot from the elbow to start the final quarter and Natalie Elizalde made back-to-back baskets. The Lopes scored two free throws and a basket to end the game.

Dunham led the Lady Mules with 15 points and seven rebounds. Miller added six points and had nine steals. Elizalde dropped in four points and made eight steals. Vargas and Boehning chipped in two points each. 

The B-Team 2 Lady Mules fell to Abernathy 15-8. Liliana Martinez led the Lady Mules with four points. Jennifer Orozco and Michelle Reyes made two points each. 

“These girls played very hard and showed much improvement,” continued Coach King. “They got several shots off but they were not going in like we wish they would. The girls really are working hard.” 

The Lady Mules ended the 2013 portion of their season with a 7-2 record and will return to action January 6, 2014 at Hale Center against the Lady Owls. They will play in the Levelland Loboettes Tournament January 9-11. The Lady Mules return home January 13 when they host the Friona Maidens.