WBB: Lady Riders can't stop Huntington, 54-34
Huntington defender and put up a layup during Tuesday night's
game in Roughrider Gymnasium. (Photo by Ray Jackson)
CENTER, Tx -- Looking to snap their two-game District 18-3A losing skid, the Center Lady Riders hosted the Huntington Devilettes here in Roughrider Gymnasium on Tuesday night. But despite a hard fought effort, they came out on the short end of the district matchup, 54-34.
The Lady Riders (10-7) had a hard time getting their shots to drop all night, while at times it seemed like the visiting Devilettes just couldn't miss. Huntington jumped out front early with a 7-0 run to start the game, and never looked back.
Center trailed 10-4 after the first quarter, then the Devilettes drilled five three-point shots in the second period to pull out to a 27-13 halftime lead. By contrast, the Center girls only made 1-of-9 three-point attempts on the entire night.
The Lady Riders made a run late in the third period, led by Kia Shepherd and Kemi Cleveland, outscoring Huntington 7-0 in the final three minutes. They then scored the first five points of the final period to draw within 11.
That was as close as they would get, however, as Huntington seemed to "flip the switch" with five minutes left in the contest, besting the home team 10-3 over the final stretch.
A major factor in the game was rebounding. With the Lady Riders having trouble with their shooting, they left a lot of loose balls up for grabs. The Devilettes were there to pull them down, grabbing twelve defensive boards. Post player Shontavia Houston also pulled down six offensive rebounds and put back four of them to account for eight of her 13 points.
Huntington forward Morgan Brown made 4-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 14 points.
Lady Rider Kia Shepherd led all scorers with 15, while Lacy Evans chipped in seven and Kemi Cleveland added six.
Center head coach Tracy Kincade was disappointed with the outcome, but remains optimistic about the direction of the program.
"They beat us with their outside shooting," Kincade explained. "They made seven threes, and that was the difference in the game. We just couldn't get our shots to drop and they did a good job of rebounding our misses."
"Our kids just wouldn't quit though. We put together a little run late in the third quarter and just kept fighting. That's the difference in where we are and where we want to go. We've just got to keep working."
The Lady Riders fell to 1-3 in District 18-3A play. They still must face the two league leaders, Diboll and Jasper in the first round of district play. They will take a night off from league competition this Friday, when they play host to Zavalla. They will then travel to Diboll next Tuesday to take on the Ladyjacks in another district matchup.