Thursday, May 2, 2024
The Gatesville girls’ basketball team upped their record to 6-4 with a 41-38 road win over McGregor on Dec. 5, three days after a fourth place showing at the Lions Club Tournament in Glen Rose.
In Glen Rose, Gatesville opened pool play with a 41-39 win over 3A No. 23 Bushland. The Lady Hornets opened up a 33-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter, then held off a Bushland rally to pick up the win.
Gatesville led 40-34 late before Bushland cut the lead to 40-39, but Taylor Coward knocked down a free throw with 8 seconds left to give the Lady Hornets a 41-39 lead. Bushland had two point-blank attempts to tie the game as time ran out, but both shots were swatted away by Emma Pollard.
The blocks were the last highlight of a monster night for the sophomore Pollard. She scored 19 points, had 14 rebounds, and blocked eight shots. Coward had nine points and six rebounds in the win.
Game two was a 48-20 win over the Glen Rose JV that was highlighted by the three-point sharpshooting of Taylor Sanderson. The sophomore guard buried five three-pointers in the first half on her way to 15 points in the game.
The Lady Hornets turned a 9-8 deficit into a 29-11 halftime lead thanks to a 21-2 run covering the second quarter. Pollard had 13 points and eight rebounds, while Coward snagged eight rebounds of her own.
The pool play win meant a bracket draw that resembled San Antonio in March. The Lady Hornets fell to 4A No. 2 Glen Rose in the first game of bracket play, then lost to 3A No. 7 Rains in the third-place game.
In the loss to Glen Rose, the Lady Hornets committed 33 turnovers. Coward led in scoring and rebounding in the game with five points and five boards. The Hornets struggled with Rains’ pressure in the third-place game loss but did have the rebounding advantage 28-27.
The Lady Hornets never trailed in their win over McGregor as they took down the Lady Bulldogs for the second time this season.
The 6-4 start to the season is the best start to a Gatesville girls’ season since the 2019-2020 season. In 2020, Gatesville won eight games and then four in 2021. Last season, Kim Chaffin’s first as head coach, Gatesville was 7-9 heading into the Christmas break before injuries decimated their backcourt and derailed their season, and the Lady Hornets finished 8-21.
Gatesville travels to Jarrell for another round of tournament play Dec. 7-9 and then hosts the Lady Cougars on Dec. 12 in what will be their first home game in 22 days.
