Now 11-1 in district and 21-8 overall, the Lady Pirates have just three games left in district. Last night they faced Poteet and this Friday is a bye. Next week they will play in Cotulla on Tuesday, and Friday, February 4th is Parents Night in Lytle, and their final district game is Tuesday, February 8th in Dilley.
Last Tuesday night the Lady Pirates won a hard-fought match against the Natalia Mustangs. Lytle started off the quarter with a bang after sophomore #15 Katara Whitfield made a quick pass to fellow sophomore #10 Calyssa Sevier who made a quick jump shot and easy two points for the Pirates. Whitfield had a very good first quarter with several rebounds, assists, and multiple points on the board. Junior #11 Cadee Martinez also got some points on the board after receiving a pass from Whitfield and driving down the court for a lay-up. At the end of the first quarter, Lytle led 15-8.
The second quarter began with Sevier making another jump shot, adding two points to the board. Shortly after, Whitfield stole the ball and drove toward the basket for a quick lay-up. Whitfield and C. Martinez proved to be a good duo when Whitfield is the rebound and C. Martinez is the outlet. C. Martinez again received Whitfield’s pass and drove for a lay-up adding another two points to the board. Lady Pirate #22 sophomore Amelia Martinez also got some points on the board after making a jump shot at the end of the second quarter making the score 29-16, Lytle leading.
The third quarter began with the Lady Pirates working a press break. Whitfield passed to C. Martinez who passed to Sevier. Sevier passed the ball to C. Martinez, and she drove to make a lay-up for the Pirates. Sevier added five points to the board with three free throws and one jump shot. Whitfield put up another two points after making a reverse lay-up. C. Martinez also added two more points after rebounding a Mustang shot, driving down the court, and making a jump shot from inside the key. The Pirates end the third quarter on top 38-31.
The final quarter was a close one and began with Sevier stealing the ball and making a lay-up. Whitfield got several rebounds and made a jump shot from the free throw line. While doing so, she got fouled and made both of her free throw shots. Directly after Whitfield broke up a Natalia press break by intercepting the ball and drove to make a lay-up. Toward the end of the fourth quarter Sevier rebounded the ball and made a long-distance pass across the court to C. Martinez who added two more points to the board. The girls stayed tough and fought to the end which ultimately resulted in a Lady Pirate win 55-51.
“We were missing Nicole Godines and Fizz Hutton and it hurt us on the defensive side with our press, but Whitfield, Scotello, and Diaz stepped up and gave us some great minutes to fill those spots. We were up 15-8 at the end of the 1st and looked pretty good besides the girls complaining it was super-hot! Everything was going our way. At the half we were up 29-16 but the last few games the third quarter has not been our best. That was what we talked about in the locker room and stopping Natalia from the 3-point line. Natalia shot 29 threes’ but only made 6 but those 6 kept them in the game. Where the girls won was in transition, we scored 16 to their 4 points. We also outscored them 38-18 in the paint. A great stat for us is we out rebounded them on the defensive side 34 to 21. I’m hoping we have a full team all playing and back on track by next week, fingers crossed. Basketball is a TEAM sport and these ladies have proved this in the last two games with girls stepping up each time. So proud of them and the fight they have,” added Coach Lori Wilson.
Stats: Sevier double-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 deflections, and 4 steals. Whitfield earned her first double-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 deflection, and 1 steal. C. Martinez 8 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 deflections, 2 steals. A. Martinez 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 deflection. Garcia 2 points and 2 rebounds. Diaz had 1 point, 4 rebounds, 3 deflections, 2 steals, and 1 block. Scotello earned 3 rebounds and playing great defense when called upon. Sofia Hutton grabbed 4 rebounds and helped on defense in the paint.
Friday night in Jourdanton, the Lady Pirates were primed and ready to beat the Squaws. Previously in district, Lytle beat Jourdanton 61-38 but now playing on the Squaws home court, the Lady Pirates needed to be prepared for anything.
Jourdanton won the tip-off and quickly turned that into two points. Sevier passed to Whitfield coming down the court for a basket. The Squaws, playing a zone defense, blocked out Lytle from the rebounds and were dominate under their basket as well. Scotello sank a jumper between Squaw defenders. Tied at 6-6, Scotello again earned a basket after rebounding over a Squaw’s head. A dribble in and a jumper from Sevier tied the game back up. The full press from Jourdanton gave the Lady Pirates some trouble but they continued to play hard through the first to finish it down 12-15.
Jourdanton added 3 points in the first few seconds of the second quarter. A short overhead pass gave the ball back to Scotello who made her shot for two. Sevier tied the game back up at 18-18. A steal and a pass from Sevier to Whitfield added two points and the Lady Pirates led for the first time this game. Sevier slapped the ball out of a Squaw’s hands and put it back in the basket for another two, 22-18. Sevier got hot with another basket and a lay-up to put Lytle up by six points. The Lady Pirates found their game and started to capitalize on the Squaws mistakes with 6 points in the last minute of the quarter. Lytle led 35-22 at the half.
Looking to continue the momentum into the third, C. Martinez earned the first basket of the half quickly followed by another. Trailing by 19, Jourdanton lost their first player to foul trouble when she fouled C. Martinez. Now frustrated and down 22-43, the Squaws continued to make mistakes and the Lady Pirates continued to score. Jourdanton did not score until the last 10 seconds of the quarter left.
Starting the last quarter up 59-22, Lytle pushed hard on the Squaw defense and C. Martinez scored the first points. Jourdanton could not sink even their wide-open shots. After literally cleaning the Squaw blood off the court, the Lady Pirates won 75-30 for another district victory.
“Another great TEAM win still down a starter, Rose Scotello played her best game of the year! She earned 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 deflection, 1 steal, with 2 blocks. The last few weeks when we have been short players, someone has stepped up and shined and Friday was her night! As a team we scored 34 points off turnovers and scored 48 points in the paint. We had 26 steals and made Jourdanton commit 43 turnovers. Everyone played and got great minutes and that will definitely help in the post season. The girls remain in 1st place but have four more games to go,” said Coach Wilson.
C. Martinez with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 10 deflections, 2 steals, 1 block. Sevier had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 9 deflections ,9 steals, 1 charge. Whitfield 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 deflection, 6 steals, 1 block. Hutton 8 points, 5 rebounds, 7 deflections, 3 steals. Scotello 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 deflection, 1 steal, 2 blocks. Diaz 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 deflection, 1 steal. Garcia 2 rebounds, 1 assist. A. Martinez 2 assists, 1 deflection, 4 steals. Hutton 1 rebound, 1 deflection, 1 block. Lunna Reyes 2 rebounds, 1 assist. Q1 12-15, Q2 35-22, Q3 59-22, Q4 75-30.
Dicy Chambers/Amber DuBose