Lady Apaches hold off Cuero

Ashli Malatek just had a good feeling Tuesday night.

The junior forward was confident the Gonzales girls basketball team would earn its first win in District 26-3A play. She was right.

Behind the inside play of Malatek, Rena Camarillo, Cassidy LaFleur, Jade McCook and Tamika White, the Lady Apaches were able to hold off Cuero, 50-49, Tuesday at Gonzales High School. The five interior players combined for 30 points, which included a team-high 14 from McCook.

“We played a good high-low game and Jade was able to get a lot of rebounds,” Malatek said. “We were aggressive on the glass all night.”

It was especially big for Gonzales (4-21, 1-3 in 26-3A) to play well inside, especially considering the fact that Cuero employed a 3-2 zone on defense. Somehow or other, the Lady Apaches picked apart the Lady Gobblers defensively.

“I really needed Jade to step up, get the ball and get rebounds,” Gonzales coach Kent Smith said. “Ashli also had a lot of good rebounds.”

Malatek started for the first time in district play as Smith replaced White with her in the starting lineup. Smith thought not only that Malatek did well as a starter, but that White also did well as a reserve.

“Ashli didn’t let down,” he said. “Tamika also did well off the bench. Our play on the inside also opened things up on the outside.”

As well as Gonzales did inside by crashing the boards and scoring 60 percent of its points, the guard trio of Danielle Flowers, Kelsey Hardy and Taylor West did their part as well. Those three combined for 20 points, including six 3-pointers with Hardy leading the guards in scoring with 11.

As well as the Lady Apaches finished Tuesday night, things did not start well for them. Cuero limited Gonzales to 5 points in the opening quarter, and the Lady Gobblers took a 12-5 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Lady Apaches picked up the pace in the second quarter as they used a 14-6 run to seize a 19-18 lead late in the period thanks to 4 points from Malatek, 3 each from Hardy and West, and 2 each from Camarillo and LaFleur. But Cuero scored right before halftime to take a 20-19 lead at the break.

“We discussed our problems at halftime and learned from our mistakes,” McCook said.

McCook sparked Gonzales in the third quarter with 8 points as the Lady Apaches outscored the Lady Gobblers, 21-15, in the period to seize a 40-35 heading into the final quarter of play. Malatek also scored 4 points in the third, while Camarillo, Flowers and Hardy all had 3 in the period.

Gonzales took its biggest lead of the game, 45-39, midway through the fourth thanks to a Flowers 3-pointer and a pair of Hardy free throws. But Cuero did not go away.

The Lady Gobblers used a 7-1 run to rally for a 47-46 lead with 2:10 left to play before McCook came back in and took over. The senior forward hit a go-ahead layup and a pair of free throws to put the Lady Apaches back up, 50-47, with 1:01 remaining in the contest.

Cuero hit a layup with 22.3 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 50-49, but the Lady Gobblers struggled to get the ball back. McCook grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds before drawing a foul with 6.7 seconds left.

While she did not make either of her free-throw attempts, Cuero was not able to get of a shot following McCook’s second miss.

“I knew I had to grab those rebounds down the stretch,” McCook said. “Once we took the lead (late in the fourth) we were confident we would win.”

Gonzales now faces the challenge of traveling to 26-3A leader Smithville tonight. The Lady Apaches and Lady Tigers tip off at 6.

“We have to come out strong,” Malatek said. “We can do it.”

Nixon-Smiley 58, Stockdale 36

The Lady Mustangs outscored Stockdale, 27-13, after halftime as they ran away with a 58-36 victory Tuesday in Nixon.

Nixon-Smiley (17-6, 4-3 in 28-2A) led 14-12 after one quarter of play and 31-23 at halftime. The Lady Mustangs built a 41-29 lead at the end of the third.

Savannah Martinez led with 13 points, while Alena Alvarez had 12. Hailey Boatright and Megan Guerra both had 11.

Other Tuesday score

Shiner 48, Ganado 30