Lady Pirates take down SA Christian, fall to La Vernia in nailbiters

Lytle is in full basketball swing. Now with two games under their belt, the Lady Pirates are ready for more. They played in Devine last night and will head to the Southside Tournament this weekend. Thursday they will open against Del Rio at 11:30 and then take on Southside at 5:30. Friday will be Memorial at 11:30 and Uvalde at 2:30. Saturday is bracket play and game times will be announced.
The Lady Pirates had their first game at home on November 9th and it was a nail biter until the end. The best action was in the second half when they broke down the La Vernia press and had a few fast breaks of their own. “The girls played their season opener in a packed gym with a great atmosphere last night. It felt like it was 120 degrees in there so it was a battle until the end. We were excited to get our first game in the books to test where we are and how good this team is going be. Well I can tell you these girls are going to be fun to watch again this year. At halftime we talked about some defense adjustments we needed to do and to stop forcing some passes. We needed to do a better job driving to the basket because we had more speed than La Vernia when they subbed out. We have two new starters this year so we are still working on the chemistry daily,” said Coach Lori Wilson.
Starting the third quarter tied at 26-26, the Lady Pirates let La Vernia’s fast break and long passes keep beating them down the court. Even fouls didn’t stop La Vernia from sinking baskets. Down 26-33, a drive to the basket and a foul sent Fizz Hutton to the line for two and after sinking her first, some rebounding, and a jumper from Arianna Garcia, put some fire behind Lytle to close the gap. Lyle got within two before La Vernia ended the third with a four point run to end it 35-42.
Fourth quarter, down 43-51, the Lady Pirates pushed their defense out and Calyssa tipped the ball on a La Vernia inbound play, she then took the ball down court and passed it to Amelia Martinez who was fouled during a lay-up. A. Martinez sank the second free throw. After a La Vernia basket, Lytle worked their offense and Sevier was able to sink one in from the key, 46-53. A double dribble from La Vernia gave the Pirates back the ball and it was a tough drive down court but it ended with a basket from Nicole Godines, 48-53. Jump ball gave the Pirates back the ball and La Vernia pressed hard but Seiver had a nice sinker to get the Pirates within three. Scoring on both sides slowed down and La Vernia won 56-52.
“Leading the way was Sophomore Calyssa Sevier with a double scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Next in line was Junior Cadee Martinez with 10 points. Junior Fizz Hutton had 8 points 4 steals and 1 charge. Sophomore Katara Whitfield had 2 points. Senior Nicole Godines had 2 points. Senior Sofia Hutton had 2 points and did an excellent job coming off the bench. Sophomore Amelia Martinez gave us some great minutes off the bench defensively and grabbed a steal. Junior Kaylee Diaz came off the bench and grabbed a rebound. Freshmen Arianna Garcia came off the bench and gave us physical minutes under the basket. Junior Rose Scotello played good defense for us off the bench,” reported Coach Wilson
Friday night at home, Lytle took on SA Christian and it was a great game for both teams. With the drumline in the stands Lytle came out on top at 54-50. Starting slow in the first, Lytle fell behind but after a time out, the team work up and caught up to close the lead to just two by then end of the first.
Lytle took control in the second quarter and with some good rebounding and aggressive defense, they held SA Christian to just 9 points while they scored 12 of their own, including a three pointer from Seiver. Leading by one at the start of the third, Lytle knew they had to keep the pressure on. SA Christian opened with a three pointer and Lytle answered with two to tie the game back up. A blocked shot by Katara Whitfield gave the ball back to Lytle and Hutton took it down court for the basket and lead, 33-31. Lytle’s lead grew to 39-31 before SAC could get a basket in. They would then add 6 more before the quarter ended 39-37.
Early in the fourth, the teams traded baskets and fouls (which the refs were quick to call on both teams). Down 41-45, with less than five minutes lift, the Pirates took advantage of an SAC time out. In foul bonus, Hutton was sent to the line where she sank her first. After a steal and a lay-up, Hutton was out after a technical from complaining to the ref about the foul on her not being called. SAC only sank one of the free throws. Ref shift under the Pirate basket and a foul was called on an SAC player sending Seiver to the line, she sank 1 and up the Pirates down by one. A few plays later and A. Martinez sank a nice jumper outside of the key to put the Pirates on top. After a time out, SAC could not get the ball in and Lyle took possession. A scramble and a turnover put SAC inbounding under the Lytle basket but again they could not get the ball in before their time expired. Lytle inbound and had several rebound attempts before Godines fouled out. SAC sank both free throws and took the lead but Lytle answered with a beautiful lay-up by Seiver. At 49-48, Lytle fouled and after both free throws were made SAC was on top. At their end of the court, Seiver and C. Martinez pinched the ball handler in causing her to travel and earning them the ball. SAC got a rebound and Lytle swarmed her, causing another travel and turnover. Under their basket, a long pass and jumper by C. Martinez put Lytle up 51-50. Eisabel Guerrero was fouled shooting and SAC got the rebound off the shot but the player again traveled and Lytle got the ball back under their basket, which led to another SAC foul. Seiver sank them both, 53-50. Again SAC fouled and Seiver made the first. Lytle won the game 54-50.
“Martinez came off the bench and gave us some great defense. Eisabel Guerrero came out late last week and gave some good minutes of defense as well. Our posts Sofia Hutton, Kaylee Diaz and Arianna Garcia helped with rebounding underneath. Nicole Godines has really stepped up and is doing a great job starting for us this year.
By Dicy Chambers
Sports Writer