The Lady Mustangs started their week off with a loss to Leakey and ended it the winner of the consolation bracket at the Kennedy Varsity Tournament.
“The Leakey game on Tuesday was a good defensive game for us we just struggled to score the ball. Our effort and intensity was outstanding,” said Coach Doug Lum. The Lady Mustangs were able to keep Leakey from getting rebounds and second chance shots.
T. Fulton 2, K. Lara 3, B. Perez 3 S. Padilla 1, A. Zapata 6, R. Sanchez 4, J. Padilla 8. Q1 3-10, Q2 13-20, Q3 21-32, Q4 27-28. 7/18 free throws.
Opening the tournament against Charlotte, the Lady Mustangs took control of the game early and held onto the ball. Leading 19-9 at the end of the first, the Lady Trojans were unable to close that gap and Natalia pulled away each quarter. They won 60-38 in one of their highest scoring games of the season.
S. Armendariz 3, Fulton 6, Joseph 10, Perez 12, Zapata 9, Sanchez 4, J. Padilla 8, K. Corona 4. Q1 19-9, Q2 38-17, Q3 44-26, Q4 60-38. 10/25 free throws.
Their second game did not go as well against Yorktown. Natalia fell behind in the first 6-21 but held Yorktown’s offensive back in the second only allowing them 5 points. The pressure of Natalia’s defense was not enough in the second half as Yorktown broke away again and won 54-31.
Armendariz 4, Fulton 2, Joseph 2, Lara 4, Perez 2, S. Padilla 3, Zapata 10, Sanchez 2, Corona 2. Q1 6-21, Q2 13-26, Q3 21-36, Q4 31-54. 3/7 free throws.
Up next was Stacey Senior High out of the Lackland Airforce Base in San Antonio. Natalia was able to slow Stacey down but not control the tempo of the game enough to win. The Lady Mustangs fell 33-39 after closing Stacey’s lead to just 6.
Armendariz 2, Joseph 4, Lara 6, Perez 2, Zapata 3, Sanchez 6, J. Padilla 7, Corona 3. Q1 5-9, Q2 16-21, Q3 20-29, Q4 33-39. 2/8 free throws.
In the Consolation Game against Runge, the Lady Mustangs were tired of losing and were ready to end the week with a win. Leading 17-7 at the end of the first, Natalia kept forcing Runge to turn the ball over and capitalizing on each turnover. Natalia won their final game 37-23.
Fulton 2, Lara 3, Perez 3, S. Padilla 1, Zapata 6, Sanchez 4, J. Padilla 8. Q1 17-7, Q2 25-11, Q3 31-17, Q4 37-23. 5/11 free throws.
“We got a lot of positives out of the Kennedy tournament. We finished 2-2 and won consolation. Angie Zapata was selected to the All-Tournament team. We are building our team chemistry and getting better every game.” Coach Lum
The Lady Mustangs will face Crystal City this Friday and then head to Nixon Smiley for a tournament December 27th.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer