Sandiettes Hold Off Lady Tigers in a Thriller
Grapeland 47 Latexo 43
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LATEXO – Over the years, the Grapeland / Latexo basketball rivalry has been fairly lopsided in the Sandiettes favor. Graduation, along with other factors, have caused the Grapeland squad to struggle somewhat this year. Latexo, on the other hand, has seen a marked improvement from seasons past.
The first game of the 2021-2022 season between the two teams saw the Sandiettes pick up a fairly easy win over the Lady Tigers in the friendly confines of the GHS gymnasium.
On Tuesday of last week, the two teams met again. This time, however, the game was in Latexo and the girls in green and white were determined to even the score this year.
Grapeland opened the fourth quarter with a 13-point lead, but with just over a minute remaining in the game, Latexo had trimmed the margin to only two points and had the momentum on their side.
It seemed the Lady Tigers were poised for the upset, but when Grapeland’s Sa’Riah Davis snuck inside the lane for the put back of a missed free throw, it gave the Sandiettes the cushion they needed to hang on for a 47-43 win.
The game was relatively close throughout as Grapeland managed to take a one-point lead after the first eight minutes of play. Te’Lia Jones paced the Sandiettes with six points in the first quarter while Davis added three. Cyshia Black and Destiny Bolden split the other four points as Grapeland led 13-12 after one.
Malley Moore was on fire for Latexo in the first period as she poured in nine points. She was joined in the scoring column by Charlee Biano with three. The Lady Tigers very easily could have ended the quarter with the lead, but in what would be recurring theme on the night, the home team struggled at the line as they only converted three of 11 free throws.
The Sandiettes opened up a little breathing room for themselves in the second quarter. Jones added another six to her total while Morgan Terry found her shot with four. MaKayla Perkins joined in on the act as well with a three-ball to help Grapeland take a 26-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
The lead could have been even bigger, but just as the Lady Tigers struggled from the charity stripe in the first quarter, the Sandiettes followed suit in the second as they only managed to convert two of seven from the line.
Unlike previous seasons, the Lady Tigers didn’t fold as they managed to stay within shouting distance, thanks in large part to … free throws. Biano was two-for-three from the line, while Moore hit two of two. Izzy Yorgenson knocked down a shot from the field and Katelyn Charanza made one of two from the line to close out Latexo’s first half point production.
After the break, the Sandiettes opened up a double-digit lead. Terry knocked down five points in the third quarter while Jones added four. Three other Grapeland players – Black, Bolden and Davis – all had two apiece to help the Sandiettes take a 41-28 lead after three periods were in the books.
The free throw issues returned for the Lady Tigers after halftime as they only managed to convert one of eight from the stripe. Aside from the free throw struggles, Biano added four to her total, Skylin Andrus had three and Smith chipped in a basket to round out the Latexo third quarter scoring.
Down by 13 with eight minutes left to play, the Lady Tigers began to whittle away at the Sandiettes’ lead. Latexo trimmed the lead to seven by the six-minute mark of the fourth and with two minutes remaining in the contest, the Lady Tigers had cut the margin to five.
When Biano knocked down a three-pointer with just over a minute remaining, it seemed like Latexo might just come all the way back. It was not meant to be, however, as Davis slipped inside for the free throw put back to help the Sandiettes hold on for the 47-43 win.
On the game, Grapeland was led by Te’Lia Jones with a team-high 16 points and was joined in double-figures by Sa’Riah Davis with 10. Morgan Terry poured in nine while Cyshia Black, Destiny Bolden and MaKayla Perkins all had four apiece to round out the Sandiettes’ scoring.
Charlee Biano led the Lady Tigers with a game-high 18 points and was joined in double-figures by Malley Moore with 15. Skylin Andrus netted five, Natalie Smith and Izzy Yorgenson both had two apiece, while Katelyn Charanza closed out the Latexo scoring with one.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
