Lovelady Lady Lions Serve Notice on the Hardwood
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
EAST TEXAS – After several seasons of watching the Grapeland Sandiettes and Centerville Lady Tigers make state tournament appearances and deep playoff runs, the Lovelady Lady Lions appear to have had enough and seem to be the team to beat this season.
The Lady Lions dominated the hardwood over the weekend and impressed the pollsters enough to move up to #4 in the Dec. 6 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 2A poll. They also moved up to #16 in the latest Texas High School Girls Basketball Class 2A poll.
Following the Thanksgiving Holiday break, the Lady Lions feasted on the Anderson-Shiro Lady Owls as they devoured them by a final score 73-34. Aaliyah Jones led the way with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 steals. Mihyia Davis just missed a triple-double with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 10 steals while Freshman sensation Lexi Price dropped in 13 points, pulled down 6 rebounds and had 8 steals.
Following their win over Anderson-Shiro, Lovelady traveled to Hudson to take part in the Hudson Invitational.
On the first day of the tournament, the Lady Lions took down the Class 4A Silsbee Lady Tigers by a score of 72-55. Mihyia Davis led Lovelady with 26 points and 4 steals. She was joined in double figures by Aaliyah Jones with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Shyanne Pipkin netted 10 and dished out 4 assists while Lexi Price had 7 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Later in the day, Lovelady took on the Class 5A Lufkin Lady Panthers and won by 21, with a final score of 59-38. Lexi Price had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals. Mihyia Davis went for 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Haley Davidson scored 11 points and pulled down 4 rebounds while Shyanne Pipkin dropped in 9 points and had 4 rebounds.
On day two of the tournament, the Lady Lions took on the Class 4A Center Lady Roughriders and annihilated them by a final score of 61-12. Lexi Price led the charge for Lovelady with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Aaliyah Jones had 9 points and 5 rebounds, while Mihyia Davis scored 8 points, dished out 3 assists, and had 4 steals.
The second game of the day saw Lovelady slay the Class 5A Nacogdoches Lady Dragons, 67-24. Mihyia Davis paced the Lady Lions with 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Lexi Price poured in 19 points, had 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Aaliyah Jones added 8 points, 6 rebounds and six steals 6 steals to help the Lady Lions advance to the win.
The Lady Lions returned on Saturday to take on the Diboll Lady Jacks, a Class 3A team. And once again Lovelady was dominant, winning by a final score of 66-16. Lexi Price had 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Mihyia Davis netted 15 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Aaliyah Jones had 14 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Shyanne Pipkin added 8 points and 9 rebounds.
So just how good is Lovelady? It’s still very early in the season and there are several tests coming up. On Thursday, the Lady Lions will travel to Fredericksburg to participate in the Fredericksburg Tournament.
After that, district play in District 20-2A begins. The Lady Lions will take a break in league action over the Christmas Holidays before they play in the always tough Tenaha Holiday Hops Tournament.
Those two tournaments should be helpful in gauging the Lady Lions’ postseason potential. Going out on a limb here – depending on how they fare in the remaining tourney action and barring any unforeseen injuries or issues, it might not be too early to start looking at rooms down on the River Walk.
Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
