The Lady Bulldogs played the Wimberly Lady Texans on Tuesday, Dec. 19, in their second district outing.
The no. 56 Texans and the no. 65 ranked Bulldogs played a great game showcasing the talents of both teams. The Bulldogs showed a lot of heart and hustle, but lost the game 35 to 49 to the Texans.
The first quarter started off at a quick pace with the Texans putting the first 2 on the board with two foul shots at the 6:31 mark. Sophomore Brooklyn Grabs got a great rebound early. As a result, the Texans doubled teamed her under the basket. The Bulldogs and the Texans vied for dominance under the basket. The Lady Bulldog showed a lot of hustle and fight.
The Lady Texans put another 2 on the board and followed it up with a three-pointer bringing the score to 7 for Wimberley to 0 for the Bulldogs. Bandera tried for a three but was stymied by the Lady Texans. After fouling Kinlee Lawlis, the Texans came up with another 3-point shot from the top of the key. The score stood at 10 for Wimberley and 0 for the Bulldogs.
The Lady Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard at the 1:00 minute mark with a 2-point shot. Lawlis disrupted the Texans passing and Grabs intercepted a Wimberley pass.
The second quarter began with a shot from Taytum Moeller that brought the Bulldogs score to 4. Wimberley made two more baskets on a quick turnaround bringing their score to 14.
Bandera went to the goal again and earned two more points. Lawlis intercepted another Wimberly pass on the sidelines. Junior Kinlee Lawlis showed a lot of hustle during this game, and was definitely a leader on the court.
At the 5-minute mark, Wimberly called a timeout with the score at 6 for the Bulldogs and 14 for the Texans.
After the Texans added two more to the scoreboard, sophomore Taytum Moeller sunk a shot to bring the Bulldogs up to 8 with the Texans at 16. Junior Gabby Barrera softly sunk a shot from the lane bringing the Bulldogs up to 10. The aggressive play of the Bulldogs earned the Texans a place at the free throw line where the Texans earned another point.
Senior Calie Trip was fouled and made one of her shots at the free throw line. Then freshman Rehbekka Gomez was sent to the foul line and made both her shots. As both teams went into the half, Bandera had 11 points while the Texans had 17.
The Texans opened the 3rd quarter with a three bringing their total to 20. Grabs fought for the ball and went to the floor several times during the game to wrestle the Texans into submission.
After a successful foul shot by the Texans, Lawlis again scored a basket bringing Bandera’s total to 13. Lawlis played a very exceptional game on Tuesday night, rebounding, shooting, and disrupting the Texans’ passes.
Wimberly followed up with another three-pointer bringing their score to 25 and a foul shot brought it to 26. The Bulldogs were at 13 points, when Taytum Moeller was fouled and made one of her two shots from the free throw line.
Barrera found her way out of her shooting slump in the 3rd quarter to score a goal bringing the Lady Bulldogs score to 16. Gomez and Moeller got down to business harassing the Lady Texans. Gomez blocked a Texan shot in the late third quarter, but Wimberly threw up a three and brought their score to 33.
Lawlis challenged under the basket with some great rebounding. Barrera shot for two bringing the Bulldogs up to 18 and then turned around and added another two to the scoreboard.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter Bandera stood at 20 while the Texans had 35. After three great rebounds, Barrera found her three-point shot and sank one from the top of the key just one minute into the quarter.
Lawlis again deflected a pass and the score read 23 for the Bulldogs to 37 for the Texans. Barrera sank another basket bringing the Bulldogs to 25. Taytum Moeller stole the Texans’ ball and turned it into another successful offensive play with a pass to freshman Jessi Battle. The Bulldogs scored at the midpoint of the fourth quarter to bring the total to 27 points to the Texans’ 41.
Battle went to the line to shoot two perfect foul shots to bring the Bulldogs score up to 29.
Barrera got her mojo back and stole the ball from the Texans which she passed downcourt to Lawlis for an easy layup. Even though Barrera is one of the shorter members of the Lady Bulldogs, she has hustle enough for taller players. She blocked a Texan shot and proceeded to steal the Texans’ pass. Shooting the ball down court to Moeller, who missed the shot on this beautiful play.
At the three-minute mark, Wimberly took their final timeout of the game. After two successful foul shots, the Texans went ahead to 47. After Lawlis missed at the foul line, Battle got in a good rebound and showed her spicy side to the Texans.
Barrera hit a shot from the lane and made two foul shots to bring up the Bulldogs’ score to 35. With a shot at the foul line the Texans ended the quarter at 49.
This matchup between the Bulldogs and the Texans was a great showcase for some of the talent on the Bulldogs’ roster. Kinlee Lawlis had a great game with multiple steals, interceptions, and shots. Gabby Barrera, who has been in somewhat of a slump, found her confidence and began making her shots in the second half.
Brooklyn Grabs showed her hustle in a big way, going to the floor to scramble for the ball when needed. Taytum Moeller played an exceptional game harassing the Texans. Freshmen Rehbekkah Gomez and Jessi Battle went head-to-head with older players and displayed super potential.
After a heartbreaking loss to Boerne last week in their district opener, the Lady Bulldogs came back with some strong play and heads up scoring. Even though they lost against Wimberly, the team showed a lot of talent and will to play to the bitter end.
The Lady Bulldogs will take the holiday week off and return to action at the Mertzon Tournament on Dec. 28. The next district game will be against Navarro at Navarro on Jan. 2.