Burnet girls basketball beats Jarrell, assured of no worse than third place in district

CORRECTION: Burnet sophomore guard connected on six of eight 3-pointers during the win against Jarrell. TexasChalkTalk.com apologizes for the error.

CAPTION: Burnet sophomore guard Sierra Schaefer and the Lady Dawgs make Jarrell pay for over playing defensively and leaving someone open for a long jumper. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet High School girls basketball team crushed Jarrell 57-28 Feb. 3 to finish no worse than third in District 24-4A.

“That was a big win for us to keep that third spot,” head coach Rick Gates said. “We really played well.”

The Lady Cougars decided to apply defensive pressure with the aim of forcing the Lady Dawgs into bad decisions. That backfired because Burnet’s guards had the spacing to pass to posts in the paint, drive to the basket for lay-ups, or draw the defense when they drove to the hoop then passed to teammates for open jumpers.

“I think our point guards did a great job,” Gates said. “We shot it well.”

Junior center Zaria Solis paced Burnet with 24 points, and Gates noted she was a commanding presence. As a team, Burnet was nine for 16 from the 3-point line led by sophomore forward Sierra Schaefer, who dropped in six, while senior guard Grace Gates added two more, and senior guard Danielle Oakley scored one.

Defensively, the coach couldn’t commend his players enough for their commitment to that end of the floor. He pointed out the Lady Cougars scored six points in one period, five in another and four to finish the game.

“This is one of the best defensive games we’ve played,” he said.

The Lady Dawgs (18-8, 4-3) will finish the regular season at Lago Vista at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, before entering the playoffs next week to face either Salado or Waco Connally in a bi-district championship.

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