Lady Mules vs. Hale Center & Lubbock High (12-2&5-2014)

Lady Mules vs. Hale Center & Lubbock High (12-2&5-2014)

The Lady Mules youth may have been showing Tuesday night when they began their year ending road tour in Hale Center against the Lady Owls. The rims were not friendly to the Lady Mules and they succumbed to defeat 48-45.

The Lady Mules seemed to have grown up a lot in just three days. They rolled into the Lubbock High School gym Friday night and dropped the Lady Westerners 56-45.

“We showed our inexperience a little in Hale Center,” said Lady Mule coach Carey Sudduth. “ It is hard to win on the road and we were not as confident and sure with the ball as we needed to be.”

“We did a pretty good job of pushing the ball up the floor and got good shots all night. It was just a real bad night shooting the ball. We have to learn to be more consistent. I was proud of the comeback we made at the end. We gave ourselves a chance and we will learn from being in that position.”

Shanice Rosas put back an offensive rebound to break the scoring ice and put the Lady Mules in front 2-0 against the Owls. Yvonne Diaz was fouled finishing a break and made a free throw.

Sadie Sudduth finished a fast break for a basket with just less than half the first period left to play with the Lady Mules leading 5-4. Conley Niblett turned in the lane and scored. The Owls made a last second shot to cut the Lady Mule lead to 7-6.

Niblett skied to grab an offensive rebound and put it back on the glass to get the Lady Mules rolling in the second period. The Owls drop in a pair of 3-pointers to put the Lady Mules behind for the first time since the tip.

Sa. Sudduth passed to Niblett working in the paint for a point-blank bucket to chip away at the Owl lead. Sa. Sudduth and Dani Diaz led a two-on-one break down the floor. Sa. Sudduth passed to D. Diaz and as the defender moved over to take her she passed back to Sa. Sudduth to finish the break and put the Lady Mules back on top 13-12.

Niblett scored on a drive down the lane and after an Owl turnover Sa. Sudduth was fouled shooting. She made both shots from the charity line to give the Lady Mules a 17-16 lead with 2:35 remaining in the first half.

D. Diaz pushed the ball ahead to Niblett running on a break. Niblett made a cross-lane pass to Y. Diaz on the blocks for a bucket to give the Lady Mules a 21-20 lead at the intermission.

By the end of the third period the Owls had claimed a 33-31 lead with eight minutes left to play in the game. The final period turned into a battle despite the Lady Mules struggle at the charity line.

The Owls made three-of-four free throws to start the fourth quarter to extend their advantage to 36-31. Sa. Sudduth drove to the hoop from the left side to chip away at the Owl lead. Sydnie Sudduth drove the baseline for a hoop to cut the Owl margin to 36-35.

D. Diaz was fouled going after a loose ball and made one free throw to tie the game. The Lady Mules managed to again tie the game at 43-43 but the Lady Mules could never take the lead.

Sa. Sudduth led the Lady Mules against the Owls with 11 points. Niblett was just one point behind her with 10. D. Diaz made all six of her points in the final period with four being from the charity line. Sy. Sudduth and Y. Diaz finished with five points each and Rosas chipped in two points.

“It was a good win in a tough atmosphere,” said Coach Sudduth after the Lubbock High game. “Our kids showed some mental toughness that was missing the last 2 games.”

“We are fighting a shooting slump and some sickness but our defense and rebounding was very good tonight. Lubbock High was very aggressive and athletic and it was a good effort tonight from everyone.”

Conley Niblett may have had her best game to date against the Westerners. She led the Lady Mules by scoring 22 points and pulled down 19 rebounds. That fire power helped the Lady Mules to out score the Westerners in all four periods.

The Lady Mules had eased in front 12-10 after the first period and led 26-20 by the intermission. The third period belonged to the Lady Mules as they poured in 19 points to claim a 45-35 advantage with one quarter left to play.

The Lady Mules may have eased up a bit because of the lead but still out scored the Westerners 11-10 in the final frame.

Dani Diaz finished the night with 10 points and Sadie Sudduth added seven points. Yvonne Diaz and Shanice Rosas added five points each. Sydnie Sudduth and Angie Perez dropped in three points apiece. Sasha Esparza chipped in one point.

The Lady Mules continued their December tour in Floydada against the Lady Winds Tuesday night and enter their first of two December tournaments in Abernathy Thursday. The Lady Mules travel to Lubbock Roosevelt Tuesday, December 16, before starting their Christmas break. They will play themselves back into shape December 29-31 in the Texico Wolverine Tournament.