Print
E-mail
Comment
Two hurting girls teams collide at Dobie
By ROBERT AVERY
With two of the unbeaten girls clubs favored to stay that way tonight, the teams trying to stay on the leaders’ heels know they’ve got their work cut out for them tonight.
The biggest of the four games tonight will be an all-PISD showdown as Dobie entertains Memorial. Also tonight, unbeaten Deer Park hosts winless South Houston, Sam Rayburn entertains 3-0 La Porte and Pasadena hosts Pearland.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle Memorial head coach Barbara Leon faces tonight as her club tries to square their 22-5A record at 2-2 is the mental state of her girls.
The Lady Mavericks suffered a mind-boggling defeat to Deer Park Saturday afternoon. The team appeared ready to open 2009 with a big road win when out of nowhere, Memorial watched a four-point lead with 19 seconds remaining evaporate into a 48-47 defeat. It’s one of those losses that can linger for awhile, especially when the wound was just 72 hours ago.
Somehow, Memorial has to put that defeat behind them because Dobie will also be trying to put behind them a difficult loss. Pearland defeated the Lady Longhorns 47-44 Saturday, reducing the number of unbeaten teams to two. Throw in the fact that Dobie has never lost to a Lady Mavs club and the obstacle appears big for Memorial. Dobie captured last season’s two meetings by scores of 61-37 and 52-39.
On the plus side for Memorial, the team’s offense ranks near the top of the district with the three-game average of 58.6. The squad may be 1-2 in the early going of district, but it’s not the fault of the offense.
That puts an additional pressure on Dobie’s defense. The Longhorns will likely not wait for Memorial to cross the time line before confronting the ballhandler. Because it has the quickness, Dobie is one of those clubs that will use defensive pressure to ignite the offense.
That was the case in a December game against Sam Rayburn. Dobie opened in sluggish fashion offensively, before using a 20-point third period to seal the victory. Many of the points in the period were the result of steals and tipped passes.
Dobie is led by the returning all-district duo of Shadae Shepherd and D’Mesha Hewett. But in the loss to Pearland, Shenitra Davis led the team with nine points.
Memorial will be countering with returning First Team All-District selection Lisa Ramirez, who scored nine points Saturday and last year’s Newcomer of the Year Isis Wilson. Jessica Gonzalez is Memorial’s best outside threat.
Deer Park will be big favorites to run its record to 4-0 when it hosts struggling South Houston. On Saturday, the Lady Trojans fell to 0-3 with a 57-26 loss to La Porte.
With Saturday’s one-point win over Memorial, two of Deer Park’s three wins are by one point. Deer Park brings to the game an offensive average of 49.3. South Houston is averaging 34.6 points for its opening three games.
With Deer Park waiting on Friday, La Porte will be trying to stay on an even keel with the Lady Deer when it confronts the Lady Texans. The Lady Bulldogs have a good offense as well, scoring over 50 points in all three of their wins. It’s directed by the likes of Heather Tobeck and Connie Lindsey, a pair of all-district returners.
Sam Rayburn had to rally from six points down in the final three minutes just to force overtime with Pasadena on Saturday that led to an eventual 38-36 win. If the Lady Texans want the upset, they’ll have to control the scoreboard. Janie Nieto and all-district pick Charlene Umunnakwe, the team’s two scoring leaders, will need help tonight from others.
Pasadena, realizing it let a victory slip through their collective fingers Saturday, must put that disappointment behind them when the Lady Oilers come calling. Pearland is led by all-district candidates Julia Bennett and Ebony Ford. Bennett scored 24 of Pearland’s 47 points Saturday, including 14 in the fourth period. Ford meanwhile is just a sophomore.
The biggest of the four games tonight will be an all-PISD showdown as Dobie entertains Memorial. Also tonight, unbeaten Deer Park hosts winless South Houston, Sam Rayburn entertains 3-0 La Porte and Pasadena hosts Pearland.
Perhaps the greatest obstacle Memorial head coach Barbara Leon faces tonight as her club tries to square their 22-5A record at 2-2 is the mental state of her girls.
The Lady Mavericks suffered a mind-boggling defeat to Deer Park Saturday afternoon. The team appeared ready to open 2009 with a big road win when out of nowhere, Memorial watched a four-point lead with 19 seconds remaining evaporate into a 48-47 defeat. It’s one of those losses that can linger for awhile, especially when the wound was just 72 hours ago.
Somehow, Memorial has to put that defeat behind them because Dobie will also be trying to put behind them a difficult loss. Pearland defeated the Lady Longhorns 47-44 Saturday, reducing the number of unbeaten teams to two. Throw in the fact that Dobie has never lost to a Lady Mavs club and the obstacle appears big for Memorial. Dobie captured last season’s two meetings by scores of 61-37 and 52-39.
On the plus side for Memorial, the team’s offense ranks near the top of the district with the three-game average of 58.6. The squad may be 1-2 in the early going of district, but it’s not the fault of the offense.
That puts an additional pressure on Dobie’s defense. The Longhorns will likely not wait for Memorial to cross the time line before confronting the ballhandler. Because it has the quickness, Dobie is one of those clubs that will use defensive pressure to ignite the offense.
That was the case in a December game against Sam Rayburn. Dobie opened in sluggish fashion offensively, before using a 20-point third period to seal the victory. Many of the points in the period were the result of steals and tipped passes.
Dobie is led by the returning all-district duo of Shadae Shepherd and D’Mesha Hewett. But in the loss to Pearland, Shenitra Davis led the team with nine points.
Memorial will be countering with returning First Team All-District selection Lisa Ramirez, who scored nine points Saturday and last year’s Newcomer of the Year Isis Wilson. Jessica Gonzalez is Memorial’s best outside threat.
Deer Park will be big favorites to run its record to 4-0 when it hosts struggling South Houston. On Saturday, the Lady Trojans fell to 0-3 with a 57-26 loss to La Porte.
With Saturday’s one-point win over Memorial, two of Deer Park’s three wins are by one point. Deer Park brings to the game an offensive average of 49.3. South Houston is averaging 34.6 points for its opening three games.
With Deer Park waiting on Friday, La Porte will be trying to stay on an even keel with the Lady Deer when it confronts the Lady Texans. The Lady Bulldogs have a good offense as well, scoring over 50 points in all three of their wins. It’s directed by the likes of Heather Tobeck and Connie Lindsey, a pair of all-district returners.
Sam Rayburn had to rally from six points down in the final three minutes just to force overtime with Pasadena on Saturday that led to an eventual 38-36 win. If the Lady Texans want the upset, they’ll have to control the scoreboard. Janie Nieto and all-district pick Charlene Umunnakwe, the team’s two scoring leaders, will need help tonight from others.
Pasadena, realizing it let a victory slip through their collective fingers Saturday, must put that disappointment behind them when the Lady Oilers come calling. Pearland is led by all-district candidates Julia Bennett and Ebony Ford. Bennett scored 24 of Pearland’s 47 points Saturday, including 14 in the fourth period. Ford meanwhile is just a sophomore.
Submit a Comment
|
You must be logged in to post a comment.
|
Not yet a registered member?
Click here to become one. Comments to stories and articles on the Web site are not edited or pre-approved before appearing online. Readers posting comments are solely responsible for those comments. Comments must be germane to the story to which they apply. Online comments that are libelous, profane or personally attack another site participant can be reported as abuse using the link provided on each comment. Comments reported as abusive will be reviewed and may be removed from view, as will off-topic comments. BE CIVIL. Individuals continually posting abusive comments to the site may have their registrations revoked. |
