Burnet girls basketball loses to Jarrell, Lampasas

CAPTION: Burnet seniors Peyton Allen (left) and Wrigley Mulhollan hold their grounds as Lampasas Junior guard Abra White tries to complete a pass. Photos by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography

The Burnet High School girls basketball team lost to Lampasas 52-32 Jan. 23 and Jarrell 40-36 Jan. 20 in District 24-4A play.

“They did give it everything they had (against Jarrell),” head coach Kim Payten said. “They played hard and we almost pulled it off. We play a lot better on the road. Jarrell was probably one of the best we’ve seen in district as far as athleticism. They have athletes.”

The Lady Cougars (16-11, 2-3) stole the ball in the final seconds of the first half for a quick lay-up and a 20-14 lead at the intermission then added another quick bucket to begin the third stanza for a 22-14 advantage. Jarrell led by as many as 12 points late in the third quarter before the Lady Dawgs mounted a comeback.

“We got up at the beginning of the fourth quarter,” Payten said. “My kids usually take off the third quarter; they did not take off this third quarter. They played probably the best third quarter we’ve played all year.” 

With 3 minutes and 23 seconds left and Jarrell clinging to a 36-31 lead, the Lady Cougars got a key block and then made enough buckets to secure the win.

“The fourth quarter, it was just back and forth and we were down by a lot more and usually that’s the time when the wheels just fall off,” the coach said. “But they kept it together, and they kept shooting, we shot very well in their gym. And they tried to sit in a zone with us.”

And the Lady Dawgs made them pay thinks to sophomore guard Maycee Floyd, who connected on six 3-pointers and senior guard Lezlee Rhoder, who hit one.

“We shot really well,” Payten said. “They had a great shooting night against Jarrell.”

Burnet out-rebounded Jarrell 43-34 and had 11 assists, 12 steals and six blocks. The Lady Cougars had two assists, two blocks and 19 steals and also connected on some 3-pointers.

Lampasas went to its man-to-man defense from the start against the Lady Dawgs.

“And they were all up in our business,” the coach said. “And we were not used to that. So that was tough. Lampasas was a hard loss for the kids. They really wanted to win.”

Because of Burnet’s success — the Lady Dawgs have consistently beaten most teams in their district in the last two decades — Payten said it hasn’t escaped the notice of her players how opponents have reacted to the outcome of these games.

“(We have) won for so long that when the teams that are beating us beat us, they take the victory like they just won a state championship,” he said. “And our kids are like ‘what’s their deal?’ And I said, ‘Well, they feel like that they’re taking out their losses on you guys, that y’all probably had no part in their losses in the past, but they’re taking it out on you. So you have to figure out how to dig your heels in and get a win.’ I tell them it’s a compliment. If we get a win in district, I think we’ll hit some momentum, and it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

Burnet will travel to Marble Falls Wednesday, Jan. 28, with the varsity playing at 6:30 p.m. Then the Lady Dawgs welcome Salado Friday, Jan. 30, and go to Taylor Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m, the varsity at 6:15 p.m., and the freshmen at 7:30 p.m.  

CAPTION: Burnet senior guard Sarah Cullison regains control of the basketball as she looks to cross midcourt. Photos by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography