Back-to-back: Lady Comanches repeat as district champs

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SHINER – Reality didn’t immediately sink in for the Shiner girls basketball trio of seniors LaNeshia Hunt, Hannah Koenning and Lauren Oden Tuesday night.

That was when they played in their final home basketball game. While shaky at times, the Lady Comanches outscored rival Flatonia, 30-15, in the second half to run away with a 53-27 victory Tuesday at Shiner High School.

“All good things must come to an end,” Koenning said. “It’s hard to face that this (basketball) will eventually come to an end, but it’s been a good four years.”

Luckily for Koenning and her teammates, Shiner (27-6, 7-1 in District 29-A-Division I) will continue to play. The Lady Comanches qualified for the postseason as they won a share of their second district championship in as many seasons.

“It feels good to be back-to-back district champs,” Hunt said. “It shows that hard work really pays off.”

Shiner shared the league crown with Weimar as the teams split the season series. The Lady Comanches lost the coinflip for the district’s No. 1 seed, and will face Three Rivers in a Class A-DI bi-district contest at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Stockdale.

Shiner never trailed on Tuesday, but things were a little too close for comfort in the first half as the Lady Comanches led 17-7 at the end of the first quarter and 23-12 at the half. Amanise Coleman had 8 points at halftime, including 6 in the first quarter.

Things got intense early in the third quarter as Shiner was whistled for a technical foul, which led to a pair of free throws by the Lady Bulldogs that trimmed the lead to nine, 23-14. The Lady Comanches outscored Flatonia, 16-3, throughout the rest of the third thanks to 4 points each from Hunt, Julianna Rankin and Kristin Schacherl to build a 39-17 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

“The technical foul motivated us to get going,” Coleman said. “This was a physical game and we were pumped up.”

Fans from both sides expressed discontent with the officiating. Schacherl had her take on the officiating.

“Every game you have different officials, and they all call different things so as a player you have to be used to adjusting to them,” Schacherl said. “But we came through after halftime. The third quarter is always a strong period for us. They were good at blocking out, but I just used my speed to find holes and get through.”

Shiner outscored Flatonia, 14-10, in the fourth to hold off any chance of a Lady Bulldogs comeback. Coleman scored 4 points in the period to finish with 12, while also pulling down 10 rebounds – both team-highs.

“We missed a lot of shots throughout,” Shiner coach John Hoelter said. “But we played defense and we got the ball inside more in the second half.”

Schacherl and Rankin had 10 and 8 points, respectively, while Hunt scored 7, and Koenning and Oden both posted 6. Oden is excited about her senior season continuing.

“I believe we’ll be in the region tournament,” Oden said. “We have so much drive as a team and we encourage each other. We won’t break down, and that’ll help us in the long run.”

Smithville 78, Gonzales 49

The Lady Tigers used a 23-6 third-quarter run to gain some distance from the Lady Apaches as they ran the table through 26-3A competition with a 78-49 win Tuesday in Gonzales. Gonzales (5-26, 2-8 in 26-3A) held its own against Smithville (19-3, 10-0 in 26-3A) in the first half as the Lady Apaches trailed 17-15 at the end of the first quarter and 38-31 at halftime.

The Lady Tigers began to run away in the third quarter as their 23-6 spurt in the period gave them a 61-37 lead heading into the fourth. Smithville then outscored Gonzales, 17-12, in the final quarter.

Kelsey Hardy led the way for Gonzales with 14 points, while Cassidy LaFleur had 10, Ashli Malatek scored 8 and Rena Camarillo added 7. The future is bright for the Lady Apaches as every player on the roster except senior Jade McCook returns for the 2013-14 season.

McCook had 4 points in her final game in a Gonzales uniform.

Hallettsville 56, Nixon-Smiley 46

A 25-12 halftime deficit was too much for the Lady Mustangs to overcome as they lost their season finale to Hallettsville, 56-46, Tuesday in Hallettsville. Nixon-Smiley (18-10, 5-7 in 28-2A) lost six of its last eight contests after starting 16-4, which included wins in its first three district contests.

The Lady Brahmas led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter before using a 15-4 second-quarter run to build a 25-12 halftime lead. The Lady Mustangs used a 20-15 third-quarter spurt to pull within eight, 40-32, entering the fourth, but Hallettsville held off Nixon-Smiley in the final quarter with a 16-14 run.

Savannah Martinez led the Lady Mustangs with 12 points, while Megan Guerra scored 9 and Alena Alvarez had 8. Tuesday’s game was the final high school basketball contest for seniors Hailey Boatright (3 points), Jennifer Guerra (6 points) and Abby Scarbrough (4 points).

Poth 76, Luling 36

The Pirettes outscored the Lady Eagles, 61-23, in the final three quarters of play to run away with a 76-36 victory Tuesday at Luling High School. Luling (5-24, 0-12 in 28-2A) trailed by two, 15-13, at the end of the first quarter before Poth used a 21-5 second-quarter run to seize a commanding 36-18 halftime lead.

The Pirettes built a 51-28 lead after three quarters of play before finishing the game on a 25-8 run in the fourth. Carley Glass led the Lady Eagles with 16 points, while Hanna Clark had 10 and Amanda Lee scored 7.

Tuesday’s game was the final high school basketball contest for Glass, Lee, Maria Castillo, Ale Frausto, Lindey Rios and Sydney Threadgill.

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