Girls open district with loss to Haskell
By Donnie A. Lucas
The varsity girls basketball team made a turn last week, picking up a pair of wins as they head into District 10-2A action.
The Lady Lions defeated both Richland Springs and Roby to improve to 4-4 for the season.
Albany opened district play at home on Tuesday, falling to Haskell 62-28. Details were not available at press time but will be reported next week.
The Lady Lions are open on Friday with a district bye, but will return to league action on Tuesday, Dec. 22 in Hawley. All four high school teams are on the calendar to play at two different times in separate gyms. The varsity girls will start at 6:00 p.m. in the main gym, while the JV boys tip off at 6:00 p.m. in the auxiliary gym.
The varsity boys will play at 7:30 p.m. in the main gym, as will the JV girls in the auxiliary gym.
That schedule will be used for all district games except at Hamlin.
Fans will need to purchase tickets online for varsity games, while JV tickets can be purchased at the gate.
All four teams will take a week off for the Christmas break. The girls will start back with games on Tuesday, Dec. 29 against Early. All four teams will resume district on Saturday, Jan. 2, hosting Hamlin starting at 2:00 p.m.
The varsity girls hosted Richland Springs on Dec. 8, earning a 41-26 win.
“This was a big test for us,” head girls coach Tate Thompson said. “Our girls found a way to win. We were glad to play a competitive game like this to prepare for a tough district schedule.”
Elia Hebel was the offensive standout, scoring 13 points. Alli Hill was tapped as the defensive player of the game.
Albany 8 11 15 7 - 41
Richland 9 6 12 9 - 36
Scoring for the Lady Lions were Torie Fuentes 3, Brylee Moore 2, Cydney Nelson 7, Alli Hill 7, Briley Tabor 7, Traci Isbell 2, and Elia Hebel 13.
The Lady Lions travelled to Roby last Friday, earning a 46-36 win.
“We got off to a very slow start,” Thompson said. “The good thing is that the girls came out and put together a great third quarter to get the lead and keep it.”
Hill was the offensive leader in the game with 15, and Cydney Nelson was picked for defense.
Albany 8 7 21 11 - 46
Roby 7 11 5 13 - 36
Scoring were Torie Fuentes 7, Cydney Nelson 11, Alli Hill 15, Briley Tabor 5, Traci Isbell 4, and Elia Hebel 7.
The coach added that in a normal year, the team would already have played about 15 games so far, but due to eliminating tournaments because of COVID-19 and moving into a big district, the District 10 games are starting earlier.
“We have only played eight games so far, so all things considered, I’m happy about where we are as a team,” the coach said.
JV Results
The JV girls picked up a game against Gordon’s varsity last Tuesday, winning 30-24.
“The girls worked hard to beat this varsity team,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “They did a great job of taking the ball to the basket and scoring.”
The coach praised the defense for working together to make stops.
Albany’s offensive player of the game was Kiana Roberson with 11 points. Also scoring were Ashlyn Holson with nine, Avery Kleiner with seven, and Callan Edgar with three.
The JV girls dominated in Roby on Friday with a 43-14 win.
“This was a great game for the team,” Wilson said. “Ashlyn Holson had a lot of steals to help put her as high scorer.”
The coach noted that the defense held Roby to just four points in the first half.
Scoring were Holson with 17, Maci Hatchett 2, Robin Lucas 6, Brooklyn Abbate 3, Edgar 2, and Roberson 7.
