Marble Falls girls basketball season ends in loss to Waco Connally

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior center Lexie Edwards shoots with her left hand while she is getting fouled by Waco Connally senior center Katrina Greer. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team lost to Waco Connally 42-37 Feb. 12 in a bi-district championship.

The Lady Mustangs finish their season tied for third in District 24-4A with a 4-5 record and an 8-24 overall record.

Marble Falls trailed 9-8 after the first quarter and 13-11 midway through the second. Senior center Lexie Edwards and sophomore Rayleigh Crim hit free throws for a 14-13 advantage. But Connally (24-11, 7-3 District 23-4A runner-up) ended the period on a 6-2 run for a 19-16 lead at the half.

Edwards tied the contest 28 seconds into the second half thanks to completing an old-fashioned 3-point play. But the Cadets answered with an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers for a 27-19 lead. A made Marble Falls basket was taken off the board because of a charging foul.

So the Lady Mustangs turned to their posts, sophomore Leslie Reynoso and Edwards. Reynoso scored on her own miss and Edwards dropped in two more free throws. Then Crim nailed a long jumper and Edwards hit another free throw to tie the game at 27-27 with 1:51 remaining in the third. The 8-0 run took 4:05 off the clock and ended on a Connally 3-pointer. But junior forward Kylie Roberts dropped in two free throws to trim the deficit to 30-29 headed into the fourth period.

Edwards gave Marble Falls a 31-30 lead 15 seconds into the period then was fouled 43 seconds later and tied the game at 32-32 on a free throw.

If there is one play that illustrated just how dominant and difficult Edwards is to defend, consider this.

In the middle of the lane, the Cadets had four players surrounding the senior center, who used every ounce of her strength to score the bucket as she was hacked by eight arms.

“We talked a lot about continuing to play, continuing to fight,” head coach John Berkman said. “Her persistence and perseverance is massive.”

After the Cadets scored a lay-up, Roberts answered with a massive 3-pointer from the left side that fired up the Lady Mustangs and their fans for a 37-36 lead with 4:29 left in the game.

But Connally answered a minute later on a lay-up for a 38-37 lead then went into a stall where junior point guard Tynia Minnitt dribbled in a circle without looking up to pass or try to score all in an effort to tire the Lady Mustangs. Marble Falls fouled and Connally made 4 of 6 free throws to end the contest.

“Their athleticism got us in the end,” Berkman said. “And we got tired.”

He noted that Edwards and junior guard Kenadie Cotton never exited the game and Roberts sat only when she took a hard fall in the second quarter. Even then, it was for a couple of minutes.

“I couldn’t ask for more from anybody,” he said. “They played unbelievable.”

Following the game, Berkman hugged Edwards and talked to her for several seconds as she tried to contain the emotion. He noted Edwards committed herself to being better at the fundamentals: a better passer, a better ball handler and filling the other areas as the team needed.

“I told her I was extremely proud of her,” he said. ‘She’s a player you don’t get every year. This year hasn’t been easy. She decided to do all she needed to do to be all she could be for this team.”

He said the players improved as the season wore on. The Lady Mustangs faced a crossed roads where they could either go through the motions of playing or they could be determined to improve. Berkman said they chose the latter.

“When I think about good teams I think about teams that persevere, I think about teams that don’t quit,” he said. “This team learned they are a good team. We learned how to fight. We learned how to not quit. We put ourselves in position.”

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CAPTION: Marble Falls sophomore Leslie Reynoso scores a bucket during the second half against Waco Connally. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro