Marble Falls girls basketball beats Llano
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior forward Addy Wood (left) and senior post Leslie Reynoso (center), a senior, protect the rim from Llano senior guard Sydney Kuykendall. Reynoso recorded her 500th career rebound during the Dec. 9 win against Llano. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team defeated Llano 36-24 Dec. 9.
During the contest senior post Leslie Reynoso grabbed her 500th career rebound.
“We played well,” head coach Adley Canales said. “We wanted to do things that we worked on, that we need to show and want to run against a good team. So we did a bunch of things (including) different defenses, and this was the first night we did it. We worked at them the whole game, just different rotations, different looks. And we wanted to do it against size like Llano’s.”
The Lady Mustangs led 9-4 at the end of the first period, but the Lady Jackets trimmed the deficit to 9-6 on a pair of free throws.
Marble Falls responded with a 5-0 run for a 14-7 lead that went to 19-9 with about 2 minutes left in the half.
A short runner by a Lady Jacket cut into the Marble Falls lead 19-11 at the half.
Reynoso hit a free throw for a 23-11 advantage to begin the second half.
The Lady Mustangs led by as much as 16 points in the fourth period, but the Lady Jackets worked their offense to set up favorable matchups with high-percentage shots.
Sophomore guard Ally Moran scored six points, while Reynoso and freshman post Emma Martin each dropped in eight points in different ways, which “was crucial for us,” Canales said.
“Our posts are being aggressive and finding the openings,” the coach said. “That’s the goal. They also got to the free throw line.”
With about a month left before the start of District 24-4A play, Canales indicated the Lady Mustangs are using these final weeks to prepare for a challenging campaign.
Jarrell (8-2) is the only district member ranked in the Class 4A poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches at No. 19. But Salado (11-4) had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 52-34 loss to Leander Glenn (14-1) Dec. 6. The Lady Grizzlies are ranked No. 4 in TABC’s Class 5A poll.
Against Llano, Canales saw an opportunity to get quality work against an opponent that will mirror the District 24-4A members.
“We were in a man(-to-man defense) the whole game,” he said. “This is our first game running it, so we showed it and we ran it. And worked it. (Llano’s guards) have size. They’re a good basketball team. So it’s good to work it.”
Last week the Lady Mustangs defeated the Lady Jackets 56-16. Canales noted Llano played better in the rematch.
“We want everybody’s best the whole time, because that’s when you can see things, that’s when you get exposed, that’s when we know what we need to work on,” he said. “Yeah, the (lopsided wins) look great. But at the same time, we are comfortable thinking everything works and it’s easy. And it’s really not. So having to work hard to get a win, we actually learn more from them.”
Marble Falls will play in the Waco Robinson Rockets Invitational Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 11-13. The Lady Mustangs face Groesbeck at 5 p.m. Thursday and Robinson at 11:20 a.m. Friday. Their record will determine who, where and when they’ll play next.
CAPTION: Marble Falls freshman post Emma Martin continues to make her presence known in every contest. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
