Marble Falls girls basketball beats Lampasas

CAPTION: Marble Falls freshman forward Emma Martin’s strength in the paint propelled the Lady Mustangs to the playoffs. Photo by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography

The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team defeated Lampasas 49-47 Jan. 30 in District 24-4A play and clinched a berth in the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

“That was a good hard-fought win,” head coach Adley Canales said. “That’s a really good team that gave us all we could ask for. And that’s one of those games that comes down to who has the ball last. They had it last. Fortunately for us they didn’t hit the shot.”

With Marble Falls (15-15, 6-1) leading 48-45, the Lady Badgers (15-15, 4-3) stole the ball and scored without the Lady Mustangs fouling to trim the deficit to 48-47.

Sophomore guard Ally Moran threw the ball toward mid court where sophomore forward Addy Wood was open. But as Wood reached to catch the ball, two Lady Badgers caught up to her and grabbed her arm to ensure she didn’t make the catch.  

Wood, who faced the exact same scenario two weeks earlier in Lampasas, stepped to the foul line and delivered again by hitting a free throw to extend the lead to 49-47 with 6.27 seconds left. The Lady Mustangs rebounded the miss and attempted two shots but missed both.

Lampasas grabbed the ball with two seconds left and passed to midcourt as the horn sounded to end the game.

“It was back-and-forth the whole time,” Canales said. “Neither one of us could really get ahead. That’s what you’re expecting in a big district game, and it’s fun.”

Marble Falls led 4-0, 6-3 and 8-5 with Wood and freshman forward Emma Martin providing much of the scoring. Foul trouble began to be an issue and Canales subbed.

At that point Lampasas freshman guard Kase Bumpas hit a 3-pointer to tie the contest at 8-8, but the Lady Mustangs took advantage of free throws in the final 68 seconds with Wood and Martin connecting on 6 of 8 for a 14-11 advantage going into the second stanza.  

Lampasas scored on an offensive rebound, Wood drove and scored on a scoop and Lampasas sophomore shooting guard Tenley Langford tied the game at 16-16 on an old-fashioned 3-point play with 6:49 left in the half.

From there, the two teams exchanged buckets with foul trouble causing Canales to change the lineup. Marble Falls senior guard Rayleigh Crum and Moran each hit free throws for a 25-23 advantage with 51.50 seconds left.

But Lampasas connected on four free throws for a 4-0 run to take a 27-25 lead into the break.

Marble Falls senior center Leslie Reynoso tied the game 19 seconds into the second half and dropped in two free throws for a 29-27 lead. Though both teams played to a 31-31 tie with 2:01 left in the third quarter, the Lady Badgers went on a 5-0 run in the closing seconds for a 36-31 lead and 38-31 19 seconds into the fourth period.

But Marble Falls responded on what may have been its finest two-minute start to any fourth quarter of the season.

Moran passed to Reynoso, who realized she didn’t have a shot, so she passed back to the guard, who dropped in the Lady Mustangs’ only 3-pointer of the game from the left side. Then Reynoso was fouled as she drove to the basket and still had the presence of mind to make the bucket and complete the 3-point play.

Sophomore point guard Mikaela Valdez drove to the basket for lay-up then dove for a loose ball and passed to Moran, who scored for a 41-38 lead with 5:27 left in the game.

Lampasas junior forward Mia Mulcahy scored in the paint to trim the deficit to 41-40 with 5:13 left.

With 4:31 remaining, Martin and Wood checked back in. Martin scored on a putback thanks to rebounding her own miss and Valdez added a free throw for a 44-42 advantage with 3:39 remaining.

After a Lampasas timeout, the Lady Badgers had possession and shot a 3-pointer. The ball spun inside the cylinder but popped out, allowing Valdez to rebound the miss.

She found Martin on the low block who accepted the contact and contorted her body to ensure she wasn’t going to get blocked and still made the shot for a 46-42 advantage with 2:15 left.

The two hooked up again with Martin giving the Lady Mustangs a 48-42 led with 1:51 remaining and forcing the Lady Badgers into a timeout.

Lampasas missed the shot with 1:36 left and Marble Falls rebounded. The Lady Mustangs chewed some clock but when they did shoot, Lampasas blocked the attempt and got the ball.

Lampasas forward Lainey Dixon trimmed the deficit to 48-45 on a 3-point play with 55.95 seconds left and sent Marble Falls into a timeout.

When the Lady Mustangs returned, Moran was throwing the ball in. Valdez faked like she was going toward mid court only to run out of bounds, catch the ball from Moran, and give it back to her in a give-and-go. Though Marble Falls didn’t score on that possession, it did allow the Lady Mustangs to chew 11 seconds off the clock.

After the game, Canales said he and his staff checked with the officials to make sure that sequence was allowed under the rules. It was and has been for at least three decades.

Lampasas shot an airball on the ensuing possession allowing Wood to make her free throw and the Lady Mustangs to celebrate.

Canales said he gave the same message to his players at the half or the one-minute intermission between the third and fourth periods.

“We need to reset and be ourselves,” he said. “We started going inside, playing Inside out. We stopped shooting long balls. We just weren’t hitting, so we had to be aware enough to realize that and to start playing to our strengths and what was working. And we went inside and we were able to just be patient and do what we wanted.”

Defensively, Marble Falls committed to not allowing the Lady Badgers’ long-range shooters to get going. They made three in the 32-minute affair.

“They’re a good shooting team,” the coach said. “So we wanted to have a hand in their face the whole time. They only hit one 3-pointer, which we can live with. Our goal is to cut them in half, and we did that. They’re hitting six to eight and we hold them to three – that’s huge. That means they have to find points elsewhere.”

Dixon was the only Lady Badger in double figures thanks to scoring 14 points by dropping in 8 of 9 free throws. As a team, Lampasas made 16 of 18 free throws, 11 of 13 in the first half.

Wood led all scorers with 16 points followed by Martin with 12, Moran and Reynoso each scored seven, Valdez added fiveand Crim finished with two. The Lady Mustangs were 20 for 34 from the free throw line none, none bigger than Wood’s final point.

“That’s a nerve-wrecking spot when you’re up by one,” the coach said. “And we’re kind of on her to make it. That goes to her maturity and poise to be able to handle that situation.”

Lampasas also forced the Lady Mustangs to adjust their offense. Typically, guards pass to the forwards at the free-throw line, who then have the option of shooting, driving or passing depending on what the defense is doing. The Lady Badgers committed to cutting that off.

So Marble Falls spread the floor. Guards passed the ball around the perimeter and the forwards went to the low blocks. And though the Lady Badgers made passing difficult, the guards used low bounce passes to get the ball to their taller teammates, who then went one on one and found scoring success.

Canales credited assistant coach Aspen Howie for tirelessly working with the guards in teaching them how to complete those passes and keep their composure as defenses are doing all they can to get the ball.

“Coach Howie has been working with them a ton,” he said. “This is before this district (race) every day. And she doesn’t just work with them; she works with everybody. We have stations. We each work with them. She’s really been in on them with having ball pressure, making passes, taking better care of the basketball, and it’s really paying off for us.”

Marble Falls travels to Salado (23-7, 6-0) Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6:30 p.m.

CAPTION: Marble Falls sophomore forward Addy Wood scored another important free throw to help ensure the Lady Mustangs beat Lampasas to sweep the season series. Photo by Christopher A. Miles/Christopher A. Miles Photography