Marble Falls girls basketball earns 1st district win

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior guard Caitlynn Johnson was most impressive against Jarrell as she set up her teammates for buckets and made some of her own to help the Lady Mustangs earn the win. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School girls basketball team beat Jarrell 55-54 Jan. 9 in its second District 24-4A game of the season.

“It’s huge in district,” head coach John Berkman said. “You have to defend the home court if you want to get in the playoffs. And we want to get in the playoffs. It puts more pressure on them to win more games and less on us.”

The contest was close throughout the first period and the opening possessions foreshadowed what was coming.

Marble Falls junior forward Kylie Roberts scored on an offensive rebound, while Jarrell junior point guard Lamyre’ Fitch answered with a 3-pointer from the right side.

Roberts found senior center Lexie Edwards on a throw-in and the Lady Cougars answered by hitting 3 of 4 free throws for a 5-4 advantage.

Roberts was the instigator on the next two Marble Falls scores: a drive and pass to junior guard Kenadie Cotton for a 3-pointer and pass to end a fast break to junior forward Bethany Fry.

But Jarrell freshman Aniya Taylor showed she was going to be a force throughout the contest by giving her team the lead thanks to hitting two free throws and knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner.

Roberts answered with 3-pointer of her own. But the Lady Cougars score the final points of the period for a 14-12 lead.

Marble Falls began the second stanza by going on a 14-3 run where Edwards and Roberts either scored or set up a teammate for a bucket. Those came from sophomore center Leslie Reynosa, who ended a fast break on a basket with an assist from Roberts and connected on two foul shots after getting a pass from Edwards, and junior guard Caitlynn Johnson, who nailed a 3-pointer thanks to a pass from Edwards.

By the end of the period, the Lady Mustangs led 29-20.

“It felt like a grind,” Berkman said of the second quarter. “They’re scrappy and quick and it didn’t feel like we were ever away from them.”

The Lady Cougars started the second half determined to take the lead by overwhelming the Lady Mustangs. They put more defensive pressure on ball handlers, who showed poise and mental toughness. Meanwhile, Roberts and Edwards handled the scoring by each connecting on a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer.

Jarrell relied on Taylor for its points. She scored 11 of her team’s 17 points in the period that included three of the four 3-pointers. By the end Marble Falls had a 40-37 lead.

The Lady Cougars began the fourth period by getting three offensive rebounds and finally scoring to trim the deficit to 40-39. But that’s as close as they would get.

The Lady Mustangs went on a 10-3 run highlighted by drives to the basket from Fry and Edwards, two free throws each from Johnson and Roberts, and Johnson baskets on a fast break and a 15-footer for a 52-42 advantage with 3 minutes and 20 seconds left.

Jarrell answered with a 7-0 run that ended on a Roberts free throw with 29 seconds remaining for a 53-49 lead. Fitch connected on a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.

A timeout was called with 6.78 seconds remaining. Marble Falls inbounded the ball to Edwards, who was immediately fouled. She hit both free throws. Jarrell inbounded the ball to Taylor, who raced to the other end and attempted a 3-pointer that was rebounded and scored for a bucket just as the horn sounded to end the game.

“We wanted to make it tough on (Taylor) to get a clean shot off,” Berkman said. “Our girls understood the situation and didn’t foul her and did not give her a clean look.”

Berkman said the inbound play was designed to go to Edwards.

“Lexie is our best scorer, our most sure-handed person on our team,” he said. “She’s our senior leader. She’s seen the most pressure out of all of them.”

Marble Falls was 13 of 22 from the free throw line but made 7 of 8 in the final stanza.

Edwards led Marble Falls with 18 points that included going 5 for 8 from the free throw line. Johnson added 14 points, while Roberts scored 11, and Cotton, Fry and Reynoso each dropped in 4.

While having three players score in double figures was big, Berkman pointed out other intangibles that were equally important: solid passing, rebounds, blocked shots, deflections and stepping in lanes to disrupt Jarrell’s offensive rhythm.

Those plays all contributed to the point total and why Marble Falls won.

“Kylie gets her hands on the ball, Lexie had big rebounds,” he said. “Bethany got her hands on the ball. She made great passes to Lexie to give us an opportunity to score. Our big players stepped up in big ways.”

Meanwhile, 24 of Jarrell’s 54 points came from the 3-point line while another 14 were from the foul line. By halftime, Jarrell had connected on 10 of 14 free throws, meaning half of their points were from the charity stripe.

But Marble Falls only committed two fouls in the fourth period, which meant Jarrell couldn’t attempt more than two free throws in the period and went 1 for 2.

Taylor led all scorers with 28 points that included five 3-pointers and going 7 for 9 from the foul line. No other Lady Cougars were in double figures.

“She’s an incredible scorer, one of the best flat-out scorers I’ve personally ever coached against,” Berkman said. “Their tenacity and resiliency kept them in it.”

One reason why Marble Falls was victorious is because the ball handlers didn’t fold under the defensive pressure. The Lady Mustangs were able to spread the Jarrell defense and create one-on-matchups where the forwards decided whether to shoot, drive or pass out to set up a guard for a long jumper.

Berkman commended his ball handlers for not allowing the defense to rattle them.

“They’ve played a lot of basketball,” he said. “It helps them to get better. They handled the pressure a lot better.”

Marble Falls travels to Lampasas Friday, Jan. 12. The junior varsity plays at 5 p.m., the varsity at 6:30 p.m., and the freshmen at 8 p.m. It’s a doubleheader with the Mustangs.

The Lady Badgers (1-1) lost to Burnet (2-0) 50-37 Jan. 9.

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