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Lady Oilers rally past Dobie
By TED DUNNAM
Donna Vacek expected her Lady Oiler basketball team to find its identity long before now.
But then again, the Pearland head coach didn’t expect versatile 5-10 athlete Ebony Ford to tear an ACL and be lost for the season.
Ford’s injury prompted a revamping of the Lady Oiler lineup, and Vacek says her team may just now be finding a comfort zone as the District 22-5A girls basketball race unfolds.
Pearland took a step in the right direction this past Saturday, rallying for a 47-44 win over Dobie, just days after the Lady Oilers toppled Rosenberg Terry, 60-55, in overtime.
“It’s been a big adjustment to find a point guard and to just account for all the things Ebony meant to us,” Vacek said. “Ebony was averaging 10 points and six rebounds when she went down, so that was a major overhaul for us.”
Equally versatile Julia Bennett has helped pick up the slack for Pearland, having scored 30 in the win over Terry and followed that with an impressive 24-point performance against Dobie.
Bennett scored 14 of her points in the decisive fourth quarter when Pearland outscored the Lady Longhorns, 22-17.
“Bennett’s played really well,” Vacek said. “We’ve needed someone to pick up the slack. Dobie went on a 17-0 run the last three minutes of the first quarter and all of the second quarter when we didn’t score.”
Pearland trailed 18-11 at halftime before reasserting itself and taking advantage of Dobie’s foul trouble.
“We got some turnovers and then they got into foul trouble and we managed to fight our way back,” Vacek said. “We didn’t miss the easy shots that we missed in the second quarter.”
The win for Pearland (6-12) improved the Lady Oilers to 2-1 in district games. The Lady Oilers hoped to secure a pair of victories this week on the road at Pasadena and at home against Pasadena Rayburn on Friday.
“It’s going to be tough for us,” Vacek said. “La Porte is playing extremely well and Deer Park is tough. To me, Pasadena Memorial is going to be the shocker of the district.
“We had three shots to get it done against Deer Park and couldn’t do it. You’ve got to make the most of your opportunities and we didn’t do it that game.”
Bennett had 23 points in that 44-43 loss to the Lady Deer while Jasmine Lanier scored eight, Alexis Deason had seven and Taylor Garcia contributed five. Lanier and Garcia had nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
In the win over Terry, Bennett had 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. She canned five 3-point shots and was 7 of 11 at the free throw line.
Taylor Garcia scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Kate Sampson added nine points, Deason scored four and Chinelo Newke added two.
The teams were tied at 52 at the end of regulation after Pearland had battled back from a 20-12 first-quarter deficit.
“I think that win really helped us get ready for Dobie,” Vacek said. “I saw some good intensity against Terry, and something just shot us into another gear.
“We got support from the bench and took matters into our own hands. The game was very wide open and we just took it from them.”
But then again, the Pearland head coach didn’t expect versatile 5-10 athlete Ebony Ford to tear an ACL and be lost for the season.
Ford’s injury prompted a revamping of the Lady Oiler lineup, and Vacek says her team may just now be finding a comfort zone as the District 22-5A girls basketball race unfolds.
Pearland took a step in the right direction this past Saturday, rallying for a 47-44 win over Dobie, just days after the Lady Oilers toppled Rosenberg Terry, 60-55, in overtime.
“It’s been a big adjustment to find a point guard and to just account for all the things Ebony meant to us,” Vacek said. “Ebony was averaging 10 points and six rebounds when she went down, so that was a major overhaul for us.”
Equally versatile Julia Bennett has helped pick up the slack for Pearland, having scored 30 in the win over Terry and followed that with an impressive 24-point performance against Dobie.
Bennett scored 14 of her points in the decisive fourth quarter when Pearland outscored the Lady Longhorns, 22-17.
“Bennett’s played really well,” Vacek said. “We’ve needed someone to pick up the slack. Dobie went on a 17-0 run the last three minutes of the first quarter and all of the second quarter when we didn’t score.”
Pearland trailed 18-11 at halftime before reasserting itself and taking advantage of Dobie’s foul trouble.
“We got some turnovers and then they got into foul trouble and we managed to fight our way back,” Vacek said. “We didn’t miss the easy shots that we missed in the second quarter.”
The win for Pearland (6-12) improved the Lady Oilers to 2-1 in district games. The Lady Oilers hoped to secure a pair of victories this week on the road at Pasadena and at home against Pasadena Rayburn on Friday.
“It’s going to be tough for us,” Vacek said. “La Porte is playing extremely well and Deer Park is tough. To me, Pasadena Memorial is going to be the shocker of the district.
“We had three shots to get it done against Deer Park and couldn’t do it. You’ve got to make the most of your opportunities and we didn’t do it that game.”
Bennett had 23 points in that 44-43 loss to the Lady Deer while Jasmine Lanier scored eight, Alexis Deason had seven and Taylor Garcia contributed five. Lanier and Garcia had nine and eight rebounds, respectively.
In the win over Terry, Bennett had 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. She canned five 3-point shots and was 7 of 11 at the free throw line.
Taylor Garcia scored 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.
Kate Sampson added nine points, Deason scored four and Chinelo Newke added two.
The teams were tied at 52 at the end of regulation after Pearland had battled back from a 20-12 first-quarter deficit.
“I think that win really helped us get ready for Dobie,” Vacek said. “I saw some good intensity against Terry, and something just shot us into another gear.
“We got support from the bench and took matters into our own hands. The game was very wide open and we just took it from them.”
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