Lady Lions Now Ranked #2 in TABC Poll
Lovelady Goes 3-2 in Fredericksburg
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
FREDERICKSBURG – After the Lovelady Lady Lions dismantled the San Augustine Lady Wolves by a score of 94-41, the Lady Lions packed their bags and took their #4 Class 2A TABC ranking to the Hill Country to play in the Fredericksburg Battlin’ Billie Classic.
The tournament field included 13 teams made up of: one 6A TAPPS team; two Class 5A teams; seven Class 4A teams; one Class 3A team; and two Class 2A teams.
The Lady Lions’ first tournament game was against the Class 5A Granbury Lady Pirates. Lovelady came out on fire and opened up a 21-14 lead after the first quarter of play and had a margin of 39-34 at the break. Unfortunately, the Lady Pirates’ size and depth took its toll on the Lady Lions in the second half as Lovelady fell, 74-70.
Shyanne Pipkin
The Lady Lions were led in the game by Lexi Price with 29 points, five rebounds and three steals. She was joined in double figures by Mihyia Davis who had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Aaliyah Jones and Shyanne Pipkin both dropped in nine.
The second game of pool play for the Lady Lions saw them taking on the Class 4A Sinton Lady Pirates and it really wasn’t even close. Lovelady raced out to a 26-8 lead after the first eight minutes of play and never looked back. The Lady Lions held the Lady Pirates to single digits in every quarter as they roared to a 71-30 win.
Lexi Price paced Lovelady with 20 points, four rebounds, four assists, six steals and five blocks. Chelsea Butler knocked down 16 points and pulled down four rebounds while Aaliyah Jones had 10 points and four rebounds. In addition, Shyanne Pipkin had nine points, four rebounds and three assists.
Aaliyah Jones
Friday saw the Lady Lions open morning play against the Stephenville Honeybees, who came into the contest ranked #20 in Class 4A.
Stephenville opened up a 10-point first quarter lead on Lovelady, but the Lady Lions battled back to trim the margin to five by halftime. They took a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but unfortunately, Lovelady’s shooting went cold in the final period as Stephenville pulled out a hard-fought 49-44 win.
Aaliyah Jones led the way for the Lady Lions against the Honey Bees as she scored 12 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Lexi Price had 11 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Mihyia Davis scored nine points, had eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
One of the Friday afternoon games in Fredericksburg featured Lovelady taking on the Class 4A Somerset Lady Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs gave the Lady Lions a run for their money in the first half and managed to take a 30-27 lead into the locker room at the break.
A second-half surge from Lovelady, however, was too much for Somerset to handle as the Lady Lions pulled away to win by a final score of 63-48.
Mihyia Davis
Lexi Price had 18 points and five rebounds, while Mihyia Davis went for 17 points, pulled down eight rebounds, had four assists and nine steals. Aaliyah Jones and Shyanne Pipkin both scored 11 points.
The win over Somerset moved the Lady Lions on to Saturday where they took on the Class 4A Area Graham Lady Steers. Once the game got underway, Lovelady got off to a fast start and took a 32-14 lead by halftime.
Graham came roaring back in the third quarter to trim the lead to single digits before settling for an 11-point deficit as the two teams headed into the final period of play.
The Lady Steers comeback bid stalled in the fourth quarter, however, as the Lady Lions held on for a 61-50 win.
Lexi Price led the Lovelady squad with 20 points and seven assists. Aaliyah Jones had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Shyanne Pipkin netted 10 points and pulled down six rebounds while Shelby Pugh knocked down seven to go along with four rebounds.
Lovelady’s weekend performance must have caught the eye of TABC pollsters because when the Dec. 13 poll was released on Monday afternoon, the Lady Lions were moved up from #4 to #2. The only team ranked higher than Lovelady this week is Gruver. Currently, the Lady Greyhounds have a record of 10-0.
The Lady Lions now have an overall record of 15-2. They were back in action on Tuesday, Dec. 14 as they opened league play in District 20-2A against the Groveton Lady Indians. As of press time, however, the final score was unavailable.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
