by JASON GORDON
Beaumont Central couldn’t handle the tall order of containing Hays’ Paige Lord (25) Friday night. (Photo by Tony Smith)
The Lord was definitely on the side of the Hays girls basketball team Friday night in its second-round playoff matchup against Beaumont Central.
The tallest Lady Rebel of all, 6-foot, 2-inch Paige Lord, proved to be the difference in helping Hays pull away in the fourth quarter for a 58-52 victory.
Time and time again, Lord thwarted Beaumont Central’s lightning-quick guards with her shot-blocking ability.
In the fourth quarter alone, Lord blocked four shots, grabbed five rebounds and scored six points to help Hays turn what was a tie game at the beginning of the final period into a six-point win.
“Paige was unconscious,” said Hays head coach Donny McDonald. “She was a huge difference maker.”
Hays (26-9) advances to play Huntsville in the third round of the Class 4A Region III playoffs Wednesday night at Brenham High beginning at 7 p.m. A win Wednesday would put the Lady Rebs back in the Region III tournament for the second straight year, and would leave Hays just two victories away from a return trip to the state tournament in Austin. The regional tournament will be held at M.O. Campbell Center in Houston.
Hays was trailing Beaumont Central by a point early in the fourth quarter when two Lord blocks led to an Angeleigh Davis fastbreak layup and an acrobatic fastbreak layup by Ashley Rankine. Ashley Magallanez then got in on the defensive act by taking a charge, which led to two Davis free throws.
Lord capped off her spectacular fourth quarter by nailing a 15-foot jumper to put Hays up 52-45 with just under two minutes to play.
“Paige stepped up big when we needed her most,” Magellanez said. “They were definitely intimidated by her height.”
Beaumont Central had several chances to cut into the lead late, but couldn’t convert.
“Beaumont Central has been blowing people out by wide margins all season,” McDonald said. “I think they kind of choked and didn’t know what to do once we finally got ahead of them in the second half.”
In the first half, Hays jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead, keyed by a Rankine 3-pointer, but Beaumont Central guard Najarae Wiley dished out five assists during an eight-minute span to help give the Lady Jaguars a 26-17 lead late in the second quarter.
Hays rallied, however, as Chrissy Arias passed to Brooke Borreson for a layup and Magallanez made a traditional three-point play to cut the lead to 26-24 at the break.
Davis led Hays with 17 points and Borreson added 12 more points to help lead the Lady Rebs.
Beaumont Central, which came into the contest averaging nearly 80 points per game and ranked No. 18 in the Class 4A statewide poll, finishes the season 25-7.
Playoff Update
• Hays’ third-round playoff game with Huntsville was postponed until Wednesday night in Brenham
• Log on to www.haysfreepress.com Wednesday night for a complete game story.
