Sandiettes Thwart #13 Lady Tigers
Grapeland 41 Centerville 37
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
CENTERVILLE – After back-to-back trips to the UIL Girls State Basketball Tournament the last two years, the 2020-2021 season has been challenging for the Grapeland Sandiettes, to say the least.
The Sandiettes lost four starters from last year’s State Semifinalist team. They have a new coach, there have been injuries and then there’s the ever-present COVID-19 issue which delayed the start of the season. The pandemic has forced games to be rescheduled or cancelled but yet, the Sandiettes are still in the thick of the playoff picture.
A win on Tuesday night against the #13 Centerville Lady Tigers would go a long way to bolster their playoff seeding and help position them for a shot at the number two seed out of District 20-2A. Playing with a sense of urgency, Grapeland did just that as they surprised the Lady Tigers on their home court with a low-scoring 41-37 win.
Cyshia Black
As the game got underway, the Lady Tigers’ strategy was obvious – stop Teira Jones at all costs. While Centerville managed to contain Jones in the first quarter, she still scored seven of the Sandiettes’ nine points in the initial eight minutes of the game. Christi Shepherd chipped in the other two as Grapeland trailed by one at the end of the period.
Keyonna Holley and KK Stevens both had three for Centerville while Trista Brown and Alex Rodell netted two apiece to help Centerville take a 10-9 lead after one.
Grapeland clamped down on defense in the second quarter as the y held the Lady Tigers to only four points on two apiece from Rodell and Morgan Richardson.
Meanwhile, the Sandiettes took charge on the offensive end of the court as they scored 13 to take a 22-14 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Mary Jane Watson found her range as she buried a pair of three-pointers. Shepherd knocked down five for the Sandiettes while Jones added two to close out the first half scoring.
Following the break, the two teams played even throughout the third quarter. Holley made a pair of threes for Centerville while Richardson had two. Kinsley Kornegay made one of two from the line as the home team trailed by eight heading into the final period of play.
Mary Jane Watson
Te’Lia Arthur connected from behind the arc while Jones, Watson and Arionna Davis all dropped in two for Grapeland as the Sandiettes led by a score of 31-23 after three.
Once the fourth quarter began, it looked as if the Lady Tigers might be able to pull off the comeback win.
Centerville cut the lead to six at the seven-minute mark and 30 seconds later, the lead was trimmed to four. A three-pointer from Stevens and one of two free throws from Kinsey Hardee tied the contest with 5:42 left in the game.
After a steal, Jones put the Sandiettes back ahead with a driving layup but the Lady Tigers tied things up once again at the 4:30 mark. The two teams traded baskets until two minutes remained when a two from Lila Munoz gave Grapeland a 39-37 lead.
On their next possession, the Lady Tigers had a chance to re-tie the game but a layup attempt went awry. The Sandiettes grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball up-court. Arthur was fouled on the possession as she put up a shot from point-blank range and went to the line with 30 seconds left.
Teira Jones
She calmly made both shots to push the Grapeland advantage to four. Try as they might, Centerville was unable to complete the comeback as the Sandiettes held on for the 41-37 win.
On the game, the Lady Tigers were led in scoring by Keyonna Holley with 12 points. Alex Rodell and KK Stevens both dropped in six, while Kinsey Hardee and Morgan Richardson both had four. Kinsley Kornegay had three and Trista Brown chipped in a basket to close out the Centerville scoring.
Grapeland was paced by Teira Jones with a game-high 15 points while Mary Jane Watson netted eight and Christi Shepherd dropped in seven. Te’Lia Arthur had five and three other Sandiettes – Cyshia Black, Arionna Davis and Lila Munoz – all had two apiece to round out the Grapeland point production.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
