An influx of offensive firepower, guided by three players in double figures, helped the Hays Lady Rebels notch a 64-37 district opening win over the Anderson Trojans Tuesday at Bales Gym.
Lady Rebels head coach Danny Preuss said Tuesday’s win underscored recent efforts to improve the team’s ability to get the ball in the bucket.
Prior to Tuesday’s win, Hays scored a combined 100 points over its last three contests.
“We’ve done a lot of extra shooting in practice and I challenged the girls to shoot on their own time as well,” Preuss said. “Things go a whole lot easier if you can make some shots, and tonight we did.”
Hays (5-6) sprinted out of the gates and captured a quick 17-4 lead, anchored by sophomore Lily Guevara, who scored 12 of her team high 22 points in the first frame.
After a sluggish start to the second frame, Hays then turned to sophomore Madison Logan, who drained a trio of three-pointers to help the Lady Rebels build a commanding 32-12 advantage at intermission.
Meanwhile, the Lady Rebel defense corralled Anderson’s offense and limited guard Cai Wilson to seven points in the first two quarters. Wilson finished by scoring 19 points in the contest.
Guevara said utilization of a man-to-man defense kept Wilson and the Trojan offense grounded. It also led the Rebels to score a series of key turnovers, which led to transition buckets. Hays’ focus on keeping Lady Trojan Chloe Hightower from crashing the glass also made a difference as well.
Spreading the wealth on offense, along with employing a selfless attitude, contributed to scoring success, said Guevara.
Finding options outside of Guevara, who is a scorer, helped Hays’ offense thrive, Preuss said. Logan finished with 12 points, while sophomore Trista Strasser had ten points.
Hays kept momentum by outscoring Anderson 32-25 the rest of the way.
“People look to (Lily), but I told them, ‘You can’t just look to Lily, you have to step up and make some shots as well,” Preuss said.
Taking care of home court is the goal for Hays as they ready to start the first half of district play. Following the Hays CISD Classic tournament, Hays will travel to play at Bowie before hosting Akins Dec. 7.
“It was big to get their first win (in district),” Preuss said. “In the locker room, everyone was positive and upbeat at halftime and after the game.”
