Marble Falls girls basketball completes district sweep of Jarrell

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior center Lexie Edwards catches the pass at the high post where she makes defenses pay, no matter how they choose to defend her. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team defeated Jarrell 57-50 Jan. 27 to remain in first place in District 24-4A with two regular season games left.

The game wasn’t as close as the score may indicate thanks to junior center Lexie Edwards, who dropped in a career-high 24 points and was consistent throughout the contest.

“It was great for us,” head coach John Berkman said. “You want a team that has a lot of weapons. And we have both on the inside and outside. It’s huge.”

Marble Falls led 15-8 after the first quarter thanks to Edwards’ eight points. The Lady Mustangs began the second quarter on a 9-4 run thanks a 3-pointer from senior guard Mackenzie Farmer and Edwards driving to the hoop for a lay-up. By halftime, Marble Falls led 33-16.

“In the first half, we did everything right defensively and offensively,” Berkman said. “We held them to single digits.”

But the Lady Cougars began the third stanza on a 12-0 run that Edwards ended thanks to scoring from the low block. Marble Falls senior guard Tea Rodriguez found Edwards for another bucket off the press breaker for a 37-28 advantage. An Edwards free throw gave the Lady Mustangs a 38-35 lead headed to the final period.

The two teams exchanged baskets throughout the period with the Lady Cougars cutting the deficit to 47-46 with 2 minutes and 5 seconds remaining.

Marble Falls answered with a 10-4 run thanks to 3-point plays by senior forward Emma Bindseil and Edwards, an Edwards bucket and Rodriguez’s free throws.

“We came out in the second half flat,” the coach said. “Jarrell came back fighting hard. Thankfully we turned it on.”

Rodriguez added 15 points, and Marble Falls was 16 for 25 from the foul line. Edwards made 11 2-point buckets.

Berkman also credited the reserves for telling their teammates on the floor what they saw and helped with adjustments.

Thanks to this win, the Lady Mustangs still can accomplish one of their goals.

“Win the district,” Berkman said. “At this point in the season, it’s about winning. You win pretty, you win ugly. Jarrell made a hard push at us. Our bunch was hungry.”

Marble Falls will travel to Lampasas at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2, to face the varsity Lady Badgers in a match-up that could decide the district championship. The subvarsity games are canceled.

“We still have to win against Lampasas,” the coach said. “We’ve won five straight and six out of the last seven. You want to be peaking at the right time. As a team, we’re playing well together and feeling good.”

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