by RAFAEL MARQUEZ
In a very physical and fast paced game at Hays High Bales Gymnasium, the Lady Rebels defeated the Schertz-Clemens Lady Buffaloes in a decisive manner 64-39.
Things got off to a bit of a slow start for the Lady Rebels. At the end of the first quarter, the Lady Rebels were down 8-13 and it looked like the Lady Buffaloes would run roughshod over them.
After a time-out conference with Hays head coach Danny Preuss, the Lady Rebels defense started firing on all cylinders which also spurred their offensive play. By the end of the second quarter they had taken the lead and would not relinquish it.
By the end of the first half, the score was 31-21 Hays. During the second and third quarter, the Lady Rebels held the Lady Buffaloes to only 14 points, while they scored 34 points.
Throughout the entire game, there was a lot of contact between the players. The referees tried to control the roughness, but despite their efforts it was still a very physical game. About halfway through the fourth quarter, Clemens’ player Sabrina Catangal (#11) was somehow knocked down, injured her head and had to sit out the rest of the game.
Lady Buffaloes head coach John Ince stormed on to the court and was almost ejected from the game.
That’s when the game got more physical.
Game play continued after Catanga was lifted up off the court, but there was a marked difference in the physicality of the play by the Lady Buffaloes. Despite their efforts, it was not enough to overcome the huge lead that the Lady Rebels had built up.
The leading scorer for the Rebels was senior guard Lindsey McCurdy (#20) with 22 points, including three 3-point shots. Junior forward Jordyne Dugger (#13) scored 13 points and sophomore guard Alexis Delgado (#33) scored 10 points for the Rebels.
The top three scorers for Schertz-Clemens were senior shooting guard Monica Perez (#32) with 11 points, followed by junior point guard Sabrina Catangal (#11) and freshman forward Kennedi Centers (#25) with 10 points each.
After the game, Preuss said, “Defense wins games for us and I thought we played pretty good on the defensive end tonight.”
For most of the second and third period, the Lady Rebels played stellar defense and were able to effectively shut down the Buffaloes offense.
Next up for the Lady Rebels, are the Seguin Matadors, January 29 at Seguin.
