Lady Mustangs win defensive battle


The Natalia Lady Mustangs continued to show improvement on the hardwood during their week of action. The girls in blue were able to improve to 8-8 on the season, as they picked up a close victory versus the St. Anthony Yellow Jackets.
“This was a defensive contest and our kids battled the entire game,” Coach Doug Lum said. “We had a tough time scoring, but kept things close rebounding and defending.”
In the opening quarter, Raven Sanchez and Zita Perez led the way combining for all ten of the offensive points on the scoreboard.
Defensively, the girls in blue did a great job holding the Lady Jackets to just nine in Natalia.
The second quarter saw an even contest, as both teams produced six points on both ends of the court. For Natalia, Jelly Padilla knocked down a 3-point shot, as Kaelyn Lara added a basket and Angie Zapata a free throw. This allowed the girls in blue to take a 16-14 lead into the locker room at the half.
In the second half, St. Anthony came out and outscored Natalia 7-4 in the 3rd quarter of action which led to a battle in the 4th.
“We trailed 229-29 with 1:45 left in the game,” Lum said. “After a time-out, Samantha Stallworth had two big baskets and Zapata added a bucket to cut the lead down to one.”
After a big defensive stop, Natalia’s Zita Perez was fouled and went to the line with three seconds left on the clock.
“She nailed both free throws and gave us the eventual victory,” Lum said.
Thankfully, the half-court attempt by St. Anthony was no good as the Lady Mustangs secured the 30-29 victory.
“This was a great character win for us,” Lum said.
Scoring Leaders: Perez 11, Sanchez 6, Stallworth 5.
Fresh-JV Lady Mustang Notes: The Freshman and JV did not play versus St. Anthony. They both faced Poteet Friday night and were victorious. Details were not available as of press time.
Upcoming Games
On press night, the girls in blue were hosting a traditionally tough Canyon Lake Lady Hawk Basketball program. This coming Friday, December 21st the girls in blue travel to Atascosa County to face the Trojanettes from Charlotte at 5:00 and 6:30 p.m.
Natalia will then be open until they open 30-3A action on January 4th at home against Coach Randy Ramirez and the Cotulla Cowgirls.
By Eric Smith