Tough go round for girls teams

There are certain things that can be an Achilles’ heel for any team.

For the Gonzales girls basketball team, it is pressure from the opposing team. Yoakum exposed the Lady Apaches’ vulnerability to the press Tuesday night during a 62-35 victory at Gonzales High School.

“(Yoakum) came at us with the same press we’ve had trouble with all season,” Gonzales coach Kent Smith said. “We made a lot of bad passes right into their hands.”

Gonzales (5-24, 2-6 in District 26-3A) was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss. The three postseason berths from 26-3A have already been clinched by Giddings, Smithville and Yoakum with Smithville being the champion, and Giddings and Yoakum will battle it out for the second- and third-place spots.

Things looked good for the Lady Apaches early on as Jade McCook hit a layup for the first points of the game, and the Lady Bulldogs were held scoreless for nearly two minutes. But Yoakum bounced back with a 21-9 run to end the first quarter.

Gonzales kept pace with the Lady Bulldogs in the second quarter despite being outscore, 14-11, in the period. Yoakum led 35-22 at the half.

Things began to get out of hand for the Lady Apaches in the second half. The Lady Bulldogs used a 15-7 third-quarter run to build a 50-29 lead heading into the fourth, and finished the game on a 12-6 spurt in the final eight minutes.

Ashli Malatek led Gonzales with 12 points. McCook and Rena Camarillo both had 8.

The Lady Apaches visit Cuero at 6 p.m. today, and wrap up the season at home against Smithville on Tuesday.

“We sure don’t want to finish in the cellar,” Smith said.

Schulenburg 50, Nixon-Smiley 37

Schulenburg outscored the Lady Mustangs, 26-13, in the second half as the Lady Horns clinched a 50-37 win Tuesday at Nixon-Smiley High School in Nixon. Nixon-Smiley (18-9, 5-6 in 28-2A) now finds itself on the outside looking in as far as the postseason is concerned.

The Lady Mustangs need Luling (5-22, 0-10 in 28-2A) to upset Karnes City (21-7, 6-5 in 28-2A) tonight, and then they must defeat Hallettsville (5-5 in 28-2A) on Tuesday to force a play-in game against Karnes City for the third-place playoff spot. Nixon-Smiley has a bye tonight.

Things started well for the Lady Mustangs as they led 13-10 at the end of the first quarter. But Schulenburg used a 14-11 second-quarter run to tie the game at 24 at halftime.

The Lady Horns took over in the third quarter with a 15-8 run to seize a 39-32 lead heading into the fourth. Schulenburg outscored Nixon-Smiley, 11-5, in the final quarter.

Savannah Martinez led the Lady Mustangs with 14 points. Megan Guerra and Alena Alvarez had 8 and 7 points, respectively.

Nixon-Smiley visits Hallettsville at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Hallettsville High School.