Lady Texans keep playoff berth in sight

It was an up and down week for the Wimberley Lady Texan basketball.

Following one of their best performances in the 44-27 win against the Llano Lady Jackets, Wimberley fell short against rival Canyon Lake in a 40-35 home loss.

“It does hurt to follow up a really great game, one of the best games we played this year, with a game that wasn’t too good,” Head Basketball Coach Caleb Hall said after the Canyon Lake game. “That’s the way seasons go. You have high points, and you have low points. We talked after the game that you can’t let the low points define you.”

“If you are not happy about it,” Hall continued to say. “You work harder, you change things and you get better.”

The week started off good for the Lady Texans as they traveled to Llano to battle the Lady Jackets. Unlike their first encounter, it was Wimberley who jumped out to a fast start and never looked back.

Scoring 12 points in the first quarter including seven from Carson Crowder, Wimberley jumped all over Llano and never relented allowing just six points including one field goal in the period to take a commanding lead.

The offense refused to let up in the second quarter as the Lady Texans scored 14 points in the second and added to the already hot start. The defense refused to loosen their grip on the Llano offense allowing just six points during the period as Wimberley took a commanding 26-12 lead heading into halftime.

The Lady Texan offense carried their momentum into the second half and drilled the Lady Jackets with 13 points in the third quarter including two three pointers from Rhyan Masur. The Lady Texan defense continued to hold the Llano offense allowing just three points during the period.

Despite being outscored in the fourth quarter, the Wimberley lead never evaporated as the Lady Texans cruised to a 44-27 victory.

“We got after it,” Hall said commenting on their win against Llano. “We showed up to Llano and flat out played, nose on the ball defense the whole game… we were just firing on all cylinders at Llano, and it’s tough to travel and show up to a road game and be at your best.”

Wimberley hoped to continue their momentum from Llano to their home game against Canyon Lake but it wasn’t meant to be.

In a reversal of roles, it was Canyon Lake who came out to the fast start in the first quarter nailing four three pointers in the process to take a commanding 14-5 lead.

But the Lady Texans shook off the slow start and battle hard against a stingy Lady Hawk defense to cut the lead down to 3 as Wimberley trailed 20-17 at half.

Both Wimberley and Canyon Lake fought hard with their tough defenses leading to just nine combined field goals made in second half. As points were hard to come by and fouls were coming from every direction, free throw shooting ended up being X-factor in the final score.

In the end, Canyon Lake’s 62 percent free throw shooting turned the close game to their favor as Wimberley shot 41% from the free throw line in the second half as the Lady Hawks came out with an important 40-35 win.

“More than anything it came down to free throws,” Hall said commenting on the Canyon Lake loss. “They made, and we didn’t. You have to make free throws in a physical game…bottom line they out shot us from the free throw line.”

While the loss stings the Lady Texans, their win over Llano still puts Wimberley firmly in third place and enough distance from both Llano and Canyon Lake who are currently tied for fourth place in district.

Wimberley continues their home stretch this week as the Lady Texans play host to rival Fredericksburg on Tuesday before playing Bandera in a huge district game that could clinch a potential playoff berth for the Wimberley on Friday.