Lady Tigers Show Promise in Loss
Leon 44 Latexo 27
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LATEXO – It was Homecoming in Latexo on Friday night as the Lady Tigers welcomed the Leon Lady Cougars to town for a District 20-2A showdown.
The Lady Tigers were hoping to pick up their first district win of the season while the Lady Cougars were hoping to stay in the thick of the playoff race as the first half of league play came to an end.
For a while, it looked like Latexo just might pull off the upset as they led after the first quarter and only trailed by six at the break. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as the Lady Tigers faded in the second half, allowing Leon to hold on for a 44-27 win.
As the contest got underway, the Lady Tigers looked sharp on offense. Charlee Biano paced Latexo with six points in the opening frame while Malley Moore dropped in four. In addition, Natalie Smith made one of two from the line to help Latexo take an 11-6 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
Caitlyn Crane had four for the Lady Cougars while Bobbie Guyton netted the other two first quarter points.
The second quarter saw Latexo go cold from the field. Moore hit a three-pointer while Biano had two, but that was all the offense the Lady Tigers could muster.
Meanwhile, the Lady Cougars got cranked up on the offensive end of the court. Crane continued to stay hot as she poured in seven points in the period. Abby Young had four, Guyton nailed a three and Lupita Carrizales had two as Leon took a 22-16 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The shooting woes continued for the Lady Tigers after the break as Biano dropped in six, but was the only Latexo player to score in the third.
Crane continued to frustrate the Lady Tigers as she poured in six more. She was joined in the scoring column by Kaitlyn Kirschner with four as Leon took a 32-22 lead into the fourth quarter.
Try as they might, Latexo could only get one shot from the field to fall in the final eight minutes. Moore and Izzy Yorgenson had two apiece while Biano closed out the Lady Tigers’ scoring by making one of two from the line.
Leon began to pull away in the fourth. Carrizales had four while Bre Watson hit from downtown. Kirschner and Genesis Salazar both had two while Crane closed out the Lady Cougars scoring by making one of two from the line to help propel Leon to a 44-27 win.
On the game, the Lady Cougars were led by Caitlyn Crane with a game-high 18 points. Lupita Carrizales and Kaitlyn Kirschner both had six, Bobbie Guyton dropped in five and Abby Young had four. Rounding out the Leon scoring, Bre Watson had three and Genesis Salazar had two.
The Lady Tigers were led by Charlee Biano with a team-high 15 points while Malley Moore had nine. Izzy Yorgenson dropped in two and Natalie Smith closed out the Latexo point production by making one of two from the line.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
