Nicole Alcantara (pictured) and Rachel Calabrese combined for 32 points for Hays Tuesday night at Canyon but it wasn’t enough as the Cougarettes had a 24-2 run in the first half that paved the way to their 58-43 win in the district opener for both teams. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
From STAFF REPORTS
If the Hays girls basketball team is going to contend for the District 27-4A title the Lady Rebels will have to raise their level of play a few notches from where it was Tuesday night at New Braunfels Canyon.
Canyon went on a 24-2 run in the first half and en route to a 58-43 victory in the district opener for both schools.
“We just had a lack of effort in the first half,” Hays head coach Danny Preuss said. “They shot 52 percent from the field and that’s easy to do when you’re getting wide open shots like they were. We have to step up our play defensively when we’re going through bad stretches on offense.”
Lady Rebel 3-pointers by Lindsey McCurdy and Nicole Alcantara from the right wing cut Canyon’s lead to 12-11 with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter but it was all Cougarettes from there until halftime.
Chamaya Turner started things off for Canyon (11-5, 1-0) with a pull-up 17-footer and teammate Jackie Schaake followed with a 15-footer from the left wing.
Turner then zipped a pass to Kelsey Flanagan, who nailed a 3-pointer and then followed that up with a long two-pointer, and Canyon led 25-11 with three minutes left in the first half.
Schaake continued the impressive run, as she drove coast to coast for a layup. She was fouled in the process and converted the traditional three-point play. Flanagan, who scored 15 points in the first half, added another 3-pointer before Hays got its first point of the quarter on a Jennifer Colonnetta free throw with 59 seconds left until halftime.
McCurdy added another 3-pointer for Hays before the break, but the damage had been done, and Canyon led 35-15 heading into the locker room.
“When you don’t compete against a team like Canyon they are going to get you,” Preuss said.
Hays came out with more passion in the second half, as Alcantara and Rachel Calabrese took turns driving to the basket to give the Lady Rebels scoring opportunities.
The Lady Rebs turned up their defensive pressure as well, and outscored the Cougarettes 28-23 after the break.
“We battled in the second half,” Preuss said. “We played with the aggressiveness we should have had the entire game.”
Calabrese led Hays with 18 points while Alcantara finished with 14 points for the Lady Rebs.
Hays (8-11, 0-1) will have to get over this loss quickly, as the Lady Rebels will play two key District 27-4A games before Christmas.
The Lady Rebs host defending district champion Smithson Valley Friday night at Bales Gym in a game scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Hays then hosts rival Lehman, which has never beaten the Lady Rebels, next Tuesday for a game scheduled to tipoff at 2:30 p.m.
