Burnet girls basketball wins Little River Academy tourney

Photo by Martelle Ludecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet High School girls basketball team captured the Little River Academy tournament championship thanks to winning five games, none bigger than beating the host 30-27 Dec. 2 in the final.

The Lady Dawgs also beat Bosqueville 34-24, Rogers 45-12, Mumfort 55-43 and Milano 57-17.

Head coach Rick Gates commended his players for not giving into fatigue. They may have understandably been tired by the time they faced Little River Academy, their second game on Dec. 2.

“I thought our girls were tired and gutted it out,” he said. “We found a way. On Saturday, you’re staying more mentally focused. That’s what’s going to win when your body is tired.”

Little River Academy keyed in on senior post Zaria Solis.

“As they should have,” Gates said. “We had plenty of open looks that I knew we had to knock down. I think we’ll be better for it down the road.”

Senior guard MaeSyn Gay, junior guard Sydney Lough and Solis were named to the all-tournament team.

As the tournament progressed, the Lady Dawgs continued to impress on the defensive end, holding each opponent to no more than 45 points. Gates said that in some games, the offense may struggle.

“But you can always bring your defense to the floor,” he said. “If your offense is shaky, your defense has to keep you in it. At some point, you can play good enough offensively to win it. We did a good job of working on execution and what we wanted to accomplish. Defensively, we played so well. We got to see a lot of kids getting out there going back and forth. That was a goal.”

While the Lady Dawgs have enjoyed longer winning streaks, he couldn’t recall the last time they won six games in six days. The first contest of the week was the 44-36 win against Hutto Nov. 27.

“We’ve won six in a row,” Gates said. “We beat Hutto at home — that was a good win. They always have skill players and athletes. I’m really proud of what we did last week.”

The Lady Dawgs travel to Salado Tuesday, Dec. 5. The subvarsities play at 5 p.m. and the varsity plays at 6:30 p.m. Gates decided to change up his schedule by adding a third tournament. The Lady Dawgs will compete in the Great East Texas Shootout in Brownsboro Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 7-9.

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