In the midst of a four-game skid with each loss by at least 20 points, playing without their leading scorer and rebounder for the second game in a row, and having slipped into a fourth-place tie in the District 6-4A girls basketball standings, Friday’s home finale for the Brownwood Lady Lions was the very definition of desperation mode.
And on Senior Night at Warren Gym, the Lady Lions came through with their most spirited effort of the season, sparked by an 18-1 run in the second half to stun the Gatesville Lady Hornets, 50-36, and regain control of fourth place in the league standings.
Tessa Goodwin (20), pictured against Graham, led Brownwood with 15 points at Glen Rose. [File photo by Derrick Stuckly]
GLEN ROSE – Leading throughout much of the contest and carrying a one-point lead into the fourth quarter, the Brownwood Lady Lions were unable to complete their upset bid as the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches No. 6 Glen Rose Lady Tigers rallied for a 36-32 victory in Tuesday’s District 6-4A opener for both squads.
Glen Rose (18-1, 1-0) was limited to single digits in every quarter but the fourth, where the Lady Tigers outscored the Lady Lions (7-9, 1-1) by a 16-11 margin. Brownwood trailed 8-6 after one quarter but grabbed an 18-14 halftime edge.
The Brownwood Lady Lions are headed into the start of District 6-4A competition on a positive note, as they upended the Graham Lady Blues, 45-38, Wednesday afternoon in the pre-district finale.
“Our whole team was physical and that’s what I want to see,” said Lady Lions 12th-year head coach Heather Hohertz. “We were going to get rebounds, we were getting up off the ground and getting after it, we were exploding and getting to the rim, that’s how we have to play.”
Fresh off a 55-42 loss to Merkel Tuesday afternoon at the Brownwood Coliseum, the Lady Lions (7-8) buckled down against Graham (7-9). After yielding 16 points in the first quarter, Brownwood gave up just 19 the remainder of the contest.
The Brownwood Lady Lions shaved a 15-point halftime deficit to a single bucket early in the fourth period, but the Merkel Lady Badgers withstood the change to capture a 55-42 victory Tuesday at the Brownwood Coliseum.
“We talked at halftime about the first four minutes being important,” said Lady Lions 12th-year head coach Heather Hohertz, whose team faced a 35-20 deficit at intermission. “I thought we came out OK and fought back there toward the end of the third quarter, but we can’t go through slumps and go up and down and have negative plays on offense. We can’t get a steal and end up turning it over, we have to be better than that.”
In a defensive struggle between former district rivals, the Brownwood Lady Lions generated just enough offense to slip past the Class 5A Abilene Wylie Lady Bulldogs for a 35-29 non-district victory Friday afternoon at Warren Gym.
Coming off a 52-20 loss to Midland Greenwood Tuesday, the Lady Lions (6-7) are now heading into the Christmas break with victories in three of their last four outings.
“It was an ugly game but any win we can get right now is a good win,” said Lady Lions 12th-year head coach Heather Hohertz. “The girls played hard, their effort was good. I’m proud of the way they bounced back from Tuesday’s performance. We weren’t ready to go and it was one of the worst performances I’ve seen from them. They bounced back in a big way today.”