Marble Falls girls basketball loses to Taylor

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior guard Kenadie Cotton is bumped as she prepares to pass the ball against Taylor. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team lost to Taylor 42-21 Jan. 14 in District 24-4A play.

The game featured teams seeking their first district victory. Taylor, led by senior guard Sophia Fisher, raced to a 7-0 lead that ended when Marble Falls senior guard Kenadie Cotton turned her steal into a lay-up.

The Lady Ducks led 12-2 early in the second period. Marble Falls senior forward Kylie Roberts hit three free throws to cut into the deficit 12-5. She added a bucket on an offensive rebound and freshman forward Adalynn Wood assisted sophomore post Kenley Virdell with a bucket right before the half. Marble Falls trailed 19-9.

Taylor outscored the Lady Mustangs 11-2 in the third period for a 30-11 advantage.

In all, Lady Mustangs scored a total of 12 points in the second half; the Lady Ducks scored 12 points in the fourth period for the win.

Marble Falls made 4 of 18 free throws during the contest.

“It’s hard to make it a game when we beat ourselves,” head coach Adley Canales said. “We had 10 turnovers in the first 5 minutes of the game. We were 3 for 11 from the free throw line in the first half, and we were down by 10. I’m not saying we’re gonna make all of them but if you make half of those, it changes what they have to do defensively, what they were doing.”

Canales said the game plan included attacking the Taylor defense by driving to the basket and by getting the ball to posts to get the Lady Ducks in foul trouble.

“We were doing what we wanted to do,” he said. “I thought we did get them in foul trouble.”

The coach said his message at the intermission was direct.

“You can quit. Or you can battle back,” he recalled saying. “The only team that is beating us is us.”   

Marble Falls had about 15 turnovers in the first half and attempted a total of seven shots in the second half.

“We have to be more aggressive and disciplined,” Canales said.

As a team, Taylor was 12 for 14 from the foul line and made nine 2-pointers and four 3-pointers. Fisher led all scorers with 12 points.

Junior center Leslie Reynoso led Marble Falls with 6 points followed by Cotton and Roberts with 5 apiece, while Virdell scored 4 and junior guard Rayleigh Crim added 1.

Canales commended the Lady Mustangs on regaining the rebounding edge, which has been a staple of their season.

“We have to be able to convert,” he said.

Marble Falls travels to Jarrell (22-6, 3-1) Friday, Jan. 17, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m., the varsity at 6:30 p.m. and the freshmen at 8 p.m.

The Lady Cougars are coming off a 46-43 loss to Burnet (12-14, 3-1) Jan. 14. As a result, Burnet, Jarrell and Salado are in a three-way tie for first place in the district standings, while Lampasas (10-15, 2-2) is in fourth.

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Rayleigh Crim. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro