Ladies hold on to #2 spot in district
The Lady Lions slipped to second place in the district race with a loss last Friday to the Haskell Maidens.
Albany opened the second half of district on Tuesday with a 43-38 win over Cross Plains. Details will be reported next week. The win improved the varsity record to 18-9 overall and 5-1 in district.
The district race continues on Friday with Albany hosting the Stamford Lady Bulldogs. Tip-off for the varsity is set for 6:30 p.m. The JV girls will also take the court against Stamford starting at 4:00 p.m.
The teams will be on the road next Tuesday for games in Roscoe with the JV at 4:00 p.m. and the varsity at 6:30 p.m.
The Lady Lions had little trouble handling the visiting Hawley Lady Bearcats on Jan. 15, earning a 48-20 victory.
“We came out and played really good defense and held them scoreless in the first quarter,” coach Tate Thompson said. “We came out and established dominance from the very start.”
The coach said he was pleased that the scoring was distributed among the entire team.
“Everyone had a hand in the scoring,” he said. “I love the energy the girls are playing with at this point.”
Torie Fuentes was named offensive standout and Elia Hebel was picked for defense.
Albany 6 17 17 8 - 48
Hawley 0 5 8 7 - 20
Scoring for Albany were Fuentes 11, Jillian Guinn 9, Cydney Nelson 2, Alli Hill 6, Jaleigh Morales 12, Hebel 6, and Aubrey Moon 2.
Things didn’t go as well on Friday in Haskell with the Lady Lions suffering a 73-27 loss to the state-ranked Maidens.
“Haskell has a very good team that will go several rounds deep in the playoffs,” Thompson said. “I think we were a little intimidated by the loudness of the gym, plus we were flat. That game was a slice of humble pie, but I think the girls will bounce back and work harder.”
Morales was the leading scorer, while Guinn was the defensive standout.
Albany 7 7 7 6 - 27
Haskell 17 24 14 18 - 73
Scoring were Fuentes 4, Guinn 5, Nelson 2, Hill 2, Sarah Cotter 1, Morales 10, and Hebel 1.
JV Results
The JV girls also split games last week with district opponents.
Albany beat Hawley 38-17 on Jan. 15 to improve to 4-0 in district.
“We played a well-rounded game with Traci Isbell taking control of the scoring in the second quarter and never letting up,” coach Richard Sullivan said.
Isbell and Ansleigh Garcia were offensive standouts, while Elizabeth Chavez, Sara Smith, and Tana Thompson were named for defense.
Albany JV 14 6 10 8 - 38
Hawley JV 3 2 4 8 - 17
Scoring were Amber Leverton 2, Isbell 12, Smith 6, Thompson 4, Chavez 6, Ana Balliew 2, and Garcia 6.
The JV were defeated by one point in Haskell in overtime, losing a tight battle 37-36.
“We gave a great effort, but a third quarter push by Haskell gave them enough hope to come back and steal the victory from us,” Sullivan said.
Offensive standouts were Smith, Garcia and Chavez. Named for defense were Smith, Garcia and Chavez.
Albany JV 17 6 1 8 4 - 36
Haskell JV 6 7 12 7 5 - 37
Scoring were Leverton 2, Smith 15, Chavez 7, Balliew 2, and Garcia 10.
