GRADY – It’s still early in the basketball season and teams are working to get better. Some games go great while others help coaches identify what areas need more work.
Grady’s varsity girls were up and down before the Thanksgiving Holiday with an impressive performance against Midland Holy Cross but struggled with Robert Lee. The first game back from holiday was a hard-fought loss to Coahoma.
Against Holy Cross Grady jumped out to a commanding 32-4 halftime lead. The pace slowed some in the second half as coach Jym Dennis gave the entire team plenty of playing time.
“We started off very strong in the first half. Defensively we cause a lot of turnovers that led to easy buckets. We had a lot of girls come off the bench and contribute,” said Dennis.
Sydney Gonzales and Emma Parker finished in double digits to lead Grady with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Delaney Saunders chipped in with eight points while Jessi Everett added six and Samantha Griffin added four.
Skye Shock, Mercedes Jimenez, Aspen Durham, and Selig Burge scored two points each and Kinley McMorries had one point.
The game against Robert Lee was a little different story. Grady had to work and claw for every point.
Robert Lee took control of the game in the first half and built a 29-16 lead. Grady put up a good fight in the third quarter but fell apart in the final eight minutes giving Robert Lee a 6-29 victory.
“We ran into a very good Robert Lee team. I thought we did some really good things for three quarters. Too many mistakes in the fourth quarter allowed them to get easy baskets,” said Dennis.
Everett led Grady with 11 points and Shock added seven.
Gonzales tossed in five points followed by Jimenez with three, Tatum North two, and Griffin had one.
Grady returned to action following the Thanksgiving break against Cohaoma.
The two teams were neck-and-neck at halftime with the Bulldogs having a small 13-11 lead. The Wildcats kept the score close through the third quarter before Coahoma managed a late run to end with a 40-32 victory.
“We have been out of the gym for 9 days and it showed. We had a lot of turnovers,” said Dennis. “Our effort on the defensive end was great and kept us in the game, because we caused a lot of turnovers. It was a close game throughout; they went on a little run late in the fourth quarter and that was the difference in the game.”
Gonzales and Everett led the charge for Grady with 15 and 10 points respectively. Griffin, Parker, and North tallied two points each and Shock scored one.
Earlier this season, the junior high Lady Wildcats took on Sands.
Grady took a 4-0 lead after the first quarter and held on for a 9-6 halftime advantage.
Sands took charge in the third quarter for an 11-10 lead and made one more field goal in the final minutes for an 18-15 win.
Raegan Dennis finished with a team high six points for Grady while Amaia Najera scored five and Brynlee Madison added four.
The varsity girls will be in Miles this week for the Mile Ribs Tournament. First round will be Thursday at 3 p.m. against Bronte.