Burnet girls basketball finishes 1st round undefeated
CAPTION: Burnet sophomore guard Journey Denton scores a 3-pointer during the win against Lago Vista Jan. 19. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School girls basketball team crushed Lago Vista 59-31 Jan. 19 to move to 4-0 in District 24-4A play.
The Lady Dawgs (23-7) led from start to finish, outscoring the Lady Vikings 16-9 in the first quarter and 19-15 in the second for a 35-24 advantage at the intermission. Burnet added to the total in the third by dropping in 16 points for a 51-30 lead.
“We talked about it after our last game,” head coach Rick Gates said. “In our first three games (of district play), in the second half we let off the gas and didn’t finish well. When we went in at halftime, we were up by 11. (The Lady Vikings) knocked down some shots to keep it within striking distance. In the third quarter (my players) did a fantastic job of making things happen.”
Senior center Zaria Solis dropped in 17 points followed by senior athlete MaeSyn Gay with 14, junior forward Sierra Schaefer added 9, sophomore guard Journey Denton and junior guard Sydney Lough each scored 6, junior forward Aubrey Mathews dropped in 3, and senior forward Alexis Leatherwood and junior center Cydney Robison each finished with 2.
“We did a really good job of scoring inside,” Gates said. “We shot the ball well from the 3-point line in the third quarter, and we were able to score in transition. It was just a complete and really good game with our offensive execution making hopen shots.”
One big trait of these Lady Dawgs is their ability to immediately implement the adjustments coaches point out to them. Gates said the players are terrific at not taking it personally and view it as an opportunity to get better.
“The girls really love to compete,” he said. “We have a really good core of older girls who are leaders. It’s great as a coach to have a team of athletes like that. It’s something we’ve built over time. It’s honest feedback on the positive and negative things. We’ve done well and do a better job of it. They understand and go and apply those things to make us better.”
Burnet prepares to start the second round at Marble Falls Tuesday, Jan. 23, with the junior varsity taking the court at 5 p.m., the varsity playing at 6:30 p.m., and the freshmen at 8 p.m.
Gates said the Lady Dawgs celebrated being in first place to end the first round, pointing out they won three consecutive home games and now are facing the same task but on the road.
“We’ll get everyone’s best shot,” he said. “We accept that.”
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