Lady Lions to play in DeLeon this Friday
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lions won a pair of games in the week before the Christmas break and have played several matches during the last week as basketball action resumed.
Albany hosted a four-team tournament last week, winning two out of three rounds as they continue to prepare for the opening of district.
The varsity was on the road to Goldthwaite on Monday, suffering a hard-fought 48-41 loss. Details will be reported next week due to an early deadline.
The Lady Lions will also make the trip to DeLeon on Friday for games tentatively scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m., although the start time had not been definitely decided at press time.
Coach Tate Thompson had hoped to put a JV team on the floor in DeLeon, the first game for the group in over a month due to injuries, but he notified the News late Monday that there would be no JV game.
The district race will begin on Friday, Jan. 10 in Cross Plains starting at 5:00 p.m.
The varsity earned a pair of wins in the week before the break, including a 43-37 victory at home on Dec. 17 over Guthrie.
“We had a slow start and were down by 10 points at one point,” Thompson said. “But the girls dug in and put together a comeback in the second half.
Jaleigh Morales was the offensive standouts, while Brylee Moore was named for defense.
Scoring for the Lady Lions were Torie Fuentes 10, Moore 8, Cydney Nelson 2, Alli Hill 4, Carley Green 2, and Morales 17.
Albany 10 2 18 13 - 43
Guthrie 9 9 10 9 - 37
The Lady Lions also picked up a 55-29 win in Throckmorton on Friday, Dec. 20.
“The entire team really stepped up for this win,” Thompson said. “Jaleigh is usually our leading scorer, but she was having trouble scoring so the rest of the team picked up the slack.”
Sarah Cotter was tapped as offensive standout, with Fuentes picked for defense.
“I’m extremely proud of the way the girls stepped up to play very good team basketball,” he said.
Scoring were Fuentes 3, Moore 5, Nelson 11, Hill 11, Green 7, Morales 4, and Cotter 14.
Albany 22 15 14 4 - 55
Throck 4 12 4 9 - 29
The Lady Lions won both games on the first day of the local tournament on Dec. 27.
“The girls came off the break to play really well and play hard, despite being off for five days,” the coach said.
The varsity defeated Benjamin, 44-29, in the first game.
Morales was named offensive standout, while Cotter was picked for defense.
Scoring were Fuentes 7, Moore 8, Nelson 2, Hill 9, Green 3, Morales 11, and Cotter 4.
Albany 9 11 13 11 - 44
Benjamin 6 5 9 9 - 29
The Lady Lions handily defeated Dublin, 53-25, in the second round.
Morales was the offensive standout named by the coach, and Moore was selected for defense.
Scoring were Fuentes 3, Moore 6, Nelson 4, Hill 13, Thompson 2, Green 8, Morales 13, and Cotter 4.
Albany dropped the third game to Goldthwaite, 41-31, on Saturday.
Morales led the scoring and Hill was picked for defense.
Scoring were Fuentes 5, Moore 4, Nelson 1, Hill 3, Traci Isbell 2, Morales 12, and Cotter 4.
