Lady Texans face Fred, vanquish Wolves

The Wimberley High School Lady Texan basketball team faces difficulty with determination and a desire to learn from their mistakes while capitalizing on their strengths. The district season and their top-ranked opponents give them opportunities to apply those lessons.

The young women under Coach Caleb Hall’s instruction are learning to deal with adversity. The Lady Texans (219 overall, 2-5 district) took a much needed win over Canyon Lake High School into Fredericksburg (24-3 overall, 5-1 district) on Tuesday, Jan. 17 against the third ranked team in Texas’ 4A division. Their playoff hopes are still alive as they scratch and claw to stay near the coveted positions with Navarro and Davenport High Schools.

The Billies came out in the opening period looking to dominate, but Wimberley held strong, keeping the score tight midway through the period. A few errors at the end of the quarter cost the Lady Texans — though they kept within eight points at 11-19. Hall’s team got a little more active on the defensive end in the second quarter and capitalized on some turnovers providing balance. The team did not allow Fredericksburg to run away with the game, closing the first half down 20-31.

“We played a great first half and kept it close,” said Coach Hall. “They turned up the defensive pressure in the second half and we struggled to respond.”

The second half continues to cause difficulty for the youthful Lady Texan squad. Inexperience or anxiety appears to take hold when they get down significantly later in games. That seems to be when forcing poor percentage shots or turnovers get the team discombobulated and off track.

The pattern repeated in both the third and fourth quarters as the Billies scored 34 in the half as opposed to the Lady Texans’ 12 — including only two points in the final period — to a final score of 65-32.

Lily Dela Rosa was the only Lady Texan in double digits, scoring 10 points with four steals and one assist. Campbell Woodward scored six while Baylee Gold hauled in 10 rebounds, and Kylie Garner deflected three Fredericksburg passes.

“Even after taking a second loss to the Billies, I feel confident in the overall direction of this team. We’re young and resilient though we’ve lost some battles. I’ve got really good feelings about our playoff chances,” Hall shared.

A way to help those chances came Friday, Jan. 20, at home versus the visiting Davenport High School Wolves. The Wolves won an earlier district contest at their home gym in a game the Lady Texans controlled until late in the third quarter.

Hall’s team came out with purpose, establishing pace and a smothering defensive effort displayed in the statistics.

Woodward led scoring with 12 points, followed closely by Dela Rosa with 11. Gold and Laney Hennessee both scored seven. Hennessee was a rebounding machine, notching 14 while deflecting eight passes and racking up six steals.

“Campbell played lockdown defense on their best scorer. When she wasn’t in the game, Laney and Holland (Wyatt) were active in denying her the ball or forcing her out of her comfort zone,” Hall commented. “Lily navigated the pressure and put tension on them as she pushed the ball up the court. Even when we slowed down in the second half and they pressed on our end, we handled it and created opportunities. That’s where we had difficulties in the first game.”

The Lady Texans got a solid defensive effort from Gold and Raygan Pack on the edges while Kylie Garner ran interference in the paint. The defense controlled Davenport’s scorers as none put up more than eight points. Bench play throughout the contest contributed on both ends of the court.

“The girls played with confidence and either stretched or maintained the lead every period except the fourth,” Hall said. “Even then, we didn’t let it get away from us and affect our composure.”

The Lady Texans played at Bandera High School Tuesday, Jan. 24 and host district leader Boerne High School Friday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m. Their following home game will be Parent Night on Friday, Feb. 7 at 6:30 p.m. versus Canyon Lake to close out district play.