A furious second half rally propelled the Lehman Lady Lobos to a program-defining 41-27 win over the rival Hays Lady Rebels at the Lobo Den.
Tuesday’s win over Hays was the first for the Lehman varsity program since the 2011-2012 season. It also marked the team’s first district win of the 2018 season.
For the first time ever, the Lehman girls basketball program, which includes its freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams, swept the Lady Rebels.
The Lobos were off to an unorganized start in the first quarter as they were forced to play at the Rebels’ tempo.
The big threat to the Lobos’ defense was Rebel senior Gabby Bosquez. Lobo head coach James Halatin said they focused the game around her. Halatin said the team executed different defensive schemes, including a “little triangle on one,” that limited Bosquez’ play.
“The first time we played them over there we kind of stayed in our zone, and Gabby kind of hit us up,” Halatin said. “I think it frustrated her because she wasn’t able to be as free as she normally is.”
The Lobos, however, were unable to hold Bosquez in the first half, and were not able to get any points on the board in the second quarter. The Rebels took control at the end of the second quarter, 21-13, and were looking to gain some momentum heading into the third.
From the moment the whistle blew to start the second half, the Lobos were a completely different team. The Lobos outscored Hays 13-4 in the third frame to take a 26-25 lead into the fourth quarter. Providing support for the rally was a smothering defense.
Halatin said his team knew what needed to be done to win the game.
“The defensive end picked it up, and that led to us getting out into space,” Halatin said. “That’s how we need to play, we just need to play a little more organized. We got out of ourselves in the first half. They tried to speed us up and we kind of bought into that, but we are better when we execute and kind of grind – that’s our style.”
With the crowd going wild and the momentum on their side, the Lobos earned 15 points in the fourth quarter alone to take the win.
Lobo freshman Kayla Presley had seven points in the fourth quarter and had multiple assists to get her team the win.
Presley said she was proud of her team, and she and the Lobos owe the win all to Halatin.
“We did great, we executed on defense and on offense with all of us hustling it was just a total team effort it was amazing,” Presley said.
Defensively, the Lobos won this game which helped them execute a little bit better on offense. Halatin said this win not only means something now, but for future teams to come.
“It’s big, and these girls deserve it,” Halatin said. “We had some seniors who have been through the frustrations of losing against Hays, and now our young group is going to see this and build on this, I hope. But this is huge for this group in this moment in time.”
