Sandiettes Fall to Lady Mustangs, 56-29
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – The Grapeland Sandiettes welcomed the Slocum Lady Mustangs to town last Friday for a rematch from earlier in the month.
In the first game, the Sandiettes simply didn’t play very well and were shut out in two quarters of the game. This time, however, the Sandiettes played much better and eclipsed their 15-point total from the earlier game by the first minute of the third quarter.
While Grapeland played much better in this contest, regrettably, they still fell to the Slocum squad by a final of 56-29.
As the game got underway, Grapeland’s Te’Lia Jones kept the Sandiettes in contention with a pair of three-pointers. Morgan Terry joined her in the scoring column as she converted one of two from the line.
Audrey Leuschner paced the Lady Mustangs with five points in the opening period while Lexi Bennett and Marlee Lasiter dropped in four apiece. Julie Neal added a basket as Slocum raced out to a 15-7 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
In the second quarter, Grapeland’s shooting turned ice cold as they only recorded one basket from the field on an Ella Post put back. Destiny Bolden converted two of two from the charity stripe while Jones and MaKayla Perkins both added one to close out the first half scoring for the Sandiettes.
The Lady Mustangs, meanwhile, took advantage of the Grapeland shooting woes to extend their lead to 29-13 at the break. Leuschner and Taylor Williams both put in five while Bennett and Laney Taylor dropped in two apiece to close out the second quarter scoring for Slocum.
The Sandiettes mounted a comeback in the third quarter as they cut the lead to 10 on two separate occasions. Jones hit another pair of threes in the third while Bolden also knocked down a shot from long-range. Perkins and Cyshia Black added two apiece to help Grapeland stay within shouting distance.
Williams helped keep the Slocum lead in double-digits with her strong play at the point. She also hit a three to go along with twos from Bennett, Lasiter and Taylor to give the Lady Mustangs a 38-26 lead after three periods were in the books.
The Sandiettes’ shooting woes returned in the final quarter as Jones was the only Grapeland player to score and she only had three.
Lasiter iced the game for Slocum as she went off for 10 points in the fourth quarter. Leuschner, Taylor and Annie Cockerham rounded out the Lady Mustangs’ scoring in the fourth with two apiece as Slocum picked up the 56-29 win.
On the game, the Sandiettes were led by Te’Lia Jones with a game-high 16 points. Destiny Bolden had five while MaKayla Perkins had three. Both Cyshia Black and Ella Post had two apiece while Morgan Terry closed out the Grapeland scoring with one.
The Lady Mustangs were led by Marlee Lasiter as she tied Jones with a game-high 16 points. Audrey Leuschner was also in double-figures with 12. Lexi Bennett and Taylor Williams both had eight, Laney Taylor netted six, Julie Neal had four and Annie Cockerham chipped in two to account for the Slocum point production.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
