Lehman's Emma Martinez goes up for a basket as Hays' Jennifer Colonnetta tries to defend during the Lady Rebels' 48-44 victory Tuesday night. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
By JASON GORDON
The great philosopher Yogi Berra once famously said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”
That’s the exact thought that was going though Hays girls head basketball coach Danny Preuss’ mind as he watched the final two minutes seemingly take forever Tuesday night as his Lady Rebels played at Lehman.
Hays looked to have a comfortable lead, but a furious rally by Lehman trimmed the margin from seven points to one in a span of less than 30 seconds.
But Lady Rebel sophomore post Jordyne Dugger had the biggest hoops moment of her young career with under 30 seconds left, grabbing a key offensive rebound and converting it into a layup to give Hays a three-point lead and the Lady Rebs would go on to win 48-44.
Just before the Christmas break, Lehman rallied from a nine-point deficit late in the third quarter to earn its first-ever win over the Lady Rebels in thrilling fashion 58-55 at Bales Gym.
Preuss, who was head coach at Lehman before taking the Hays job during the summer of 2010, admitted the two games were eerily similar.
“I was seriously thinking it’s like déjà vu all over again,” Preuss said. “It was almost a carbon copy of the first game. We built up a nice lead in the third quarter by making some shots and feeding our posts the ball, and then they came storming back.”
Most of the matchups between the two teams during the previous six seasons Lehman has been playing varsity basketball were lopsided contests in favor of Hays.
Despite the Lady Lobo loss Tuesday night, it appears those days have passed.
“When Coach Preuss was here he said it wasn’t going to be a real rivalry until we beat Hays,” said Lehman guard Amara Smith, who finished with 10 points. “We didn’t win tonight, but we know we can beat them. I’d say it’s definitely a rivalry now. I was really pumped up when we were coming back, we just came up a little bit short.”
Hays led 43-36 with under two minutes to play when Lehman sophomore Oliva Marzullo, who played a key fourth-quarter role in the win at Hays in December, stole three straight passes as the Lady Lobos applied full-court pressure. She converted two into layups and made two free throws after being fouled, and Lehman sliced the lead to 43-42 with 1:24 remaining in the game.
After a Lindsey McCurdy free throw made it 44-42, Lehman tied the score with 37 seconds left on Cydney Ervin’s driving layup.
McCurdy was at the line with a chance to give Hays the lead five seconds later. She made the first, but missed the second. That’s when Dugger swooped in for the rebound and layup to give Hays a 47-44 advantage.
Lehman had one last chance to tie it, but Emma Martinez’s three-pointer was off the mark.
“We just had to stay calm and not let all the chaos affect us,” Hays guard Nicole Alcantara said. “We really wanted to show them the first game wasn’t how it was supposed to be between the two teams.”
Hays, which was paced by Rachel Calabrese’s 15 points, improves to 6-3 in district play and has a solid chance at second place in the district race. The Lady Rebs host Alamo Heights Friday night.
The Lady Lobos, who were led by Ariana Gallegos’ 13 points, fall to 3-6 in District 27-4A. They are in dire need of a win at district-leading Canyon Friday night to stay in the playoff hunt.
“We had them on the ropes,” Lehman head coach Jamie Coy said after Tuesday night’s loss. “We didn’t run the full-court press that had been working so well at the very end and we lost a chance to get another very big win. I didn’t really feel Hays beat us. I thought we had them, we just didn’t execute down the stretch.”
