Frustrations on the offensive end led to struggles for the Lehman Lady Lobos as they fell 45-27 to the Austin Maroons Jan. 8 at the Lobo Den.
Lehman (12-15) dropped to 4-5 in district play and is now a full game behind Lake Travis in the race for the final 25-6A playoff spot.
“I feel like we didn't play up to our potential tonight,” Lehman head coach Brad Taylor said. “I feel like we took a step back tonight. We are a way better team than what we showed tonight.”
The Lady Lobos opened with energy in the first quarter as they forced six turnovers with their half-court zone defense and full court press. However, Lehman only scored six points in the first quarter off those turnovers.
Lehman’s offensive struggles continued into the next frame as they scored just two points. Meanwhile, Austin outscored Lehman 13-2 in the second quarter, taking energy out of the building as they led 20-8 at intermission.
“We came out flat,” said Taylor. “I told them before the game that we couldn't afford to come out slow and we needed to come out firing on all cylinders tonight, and we didn't do that. Hats off to Austin High for the great defense they played.”
In the third quarter, the Lady Lobos showed more energy on offense as they more than doubled their output. However, Austin still led 37-22 by the end of the quarter. Lapses on defense, along with struggles in matching up to Austin High’s size, proved too much to overcome for Lehman.
The Lady Lobos struggled to get anything going out of their offensive sets, while Austin High scored on easy fast break opportunities to run the score up to 45-27 by the final buzzer.
Lady Lobo Bridgette Ramirez scored a team high seven points, while also pulling down five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore guard Kayla Presley contributed five points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while junior forward Aspaisa Youngbird had four points and four rebounds coming off the bench.
With only seven games left in the regular season, Taylor said the Lobos must score key wins, including a few upsets over the top teams in the standings, to improve their playoff chances.
“We have to beat one of the top four teams,” Taylor said. “We need to beat either Westlake, Lake Travis or Bowie to even give ourselves a chance. Austin High beat us both times, so that right there pretty much sets them up to get in the playoffs. So now we are fighting to try to get that fourth spot.”
Lehman travels to take on district-leading Westlake Jan. 15. The Lobos then host fourth place Lake Travis Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lobo Den.
25-6A girls basketball standings as of Jan. 10
Westlake 9-0
Bowie 8-1
Austin 7-2
Lake Travis 5-4
Lehman 4-5
Hays 3-5
Del Valle 2-7
Anderson 1-8
Akins 1-8
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[accordion title="Lehman Lady Lobo basketball's remaining schedule" load="hide"]Jan. 15 @ Westlake, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 18 v Lake Travis, 7:30 p.m .
Jan. 22 @ Del Valle, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 25 v Hays @ LHS, 7 p.m.
Jan. 29 @ Anderson, 7 p.m.
Feb. 1 v Bowie, 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 5 @ Akins, 7:30 p.m. [/accordion]
[/accordions]
