The Lady Pirates traveled to Karnes City to take on the Badgers for the second time this season. When they met back in December, Lytle fell 42-49 in their only district loss this season.
Ready for revenge, Cadee Martinez, Nicole Godines, Calyssa Sevier, Amelia Martinez, and Katara Whitefield started for Lytle, but after falling behind 0-7, 22 sank a three-pointer. Two jump shots and a free-throw from 10 put the Pirates on top at 8-7. Rebounding the ball, Whitfield made her shot and drew the foul. With a seven-point lead, the Lady Pirates started to play with more confidence. With under a minute left, Karnes City broke Lytle’s Arianna Garcia run with a free-throw but they also tallied up 7 fouls in the first half.
Neither team would score in the first minute of the second quarter until Lytle ran their offense to find Sevier open, she took a shot and stepped backwards into a Badger bouncing off her and falling. The referees called a foul and upset the Karnes City coach. Sevier sank the first free-throw to make the score 15-8. Quickly getting the ball back from Karnes City Sevier then swished a jumper for two more. Karnes City finally broke double digits with a three-pointer but with 9 fouls and five and a half minutes left, they needed to stop giving the Pirates free shots. Another jumper from Sevier drew another foul and put Lytle up 20-11. Fouled rebounding Whitfield added another free-throw to the Pirates score. C Martinez was sent to the line again where she sank both of her free-throws. Karnes City attempted to get the ball back to their end but C Martinez snagged one of their passes and took it back down for a lay-up. Leading 25-14 with three-minutes left in the half, the Pirates moved the ball around the defense until C Martinez was open for a pass to Whitfield who scored another basket. Lytle would continue to run up the score until the half ended 31-15.
Lytle started the second half with the ball and Sevier sank a jumper from the baseline for the first points of the third. Lytle controlled the pace of the third, but their offense cooled off and Karnes City whittled away at the Pirate lead. With the score 35-24, neither team would score the last few minutes of the quarter.
Karnes City continued to close the gap with back-to-back three-pointers. Now within 5, both crowds were getting more excited. Sevier dribbled in and with a block from Whitfield and a flourish she stepped around the defender for the lay-up. The Badgers moved too quickly during a free-throw, and Whitfield reshot to sink it and put the Lady Pirates up by five. 42-39, Lytle started to run out the clock. A quick steal and a Badger scored. Sevier dribbled down the court hard and through every defender for a lay-up and a free-throw. Lyle played tough defense and ran out the clock for the 45-41 win!
“We were up 31-15 going into halftime but the 3rd quarter we only scored four points; we just went cold nothing was falling for us. The fourth quarter KC outscored us 17-10 but we were able to hold on to the lead. We struggled at times scoring and Cadee Martinez was in foul trouble the entire game. It was another great team win for the girls. We are 9-1 in district and 18-8 for the season. This win ties Lytle with Poth for first place at 8-1. Karnes City is now second at 8-2 with Natalia bringing up fourth with Jourdanton,” added Coach Wilson.
Calyssa Sevier with 29 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 defections, 5 steals, 1 block. “She really came through for us this game,” added Coach Wilson. Katara Whitfield had 7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 deflections, 5 steals. Amelia Martinez had 6 points. Cadee Martinez had 3 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists. Nicole Godines played great defense. Sofia Hutton gave us some good minutes helping in the paint.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer