EARLY – Trailing at halftime, the Early Lady Horns held the May Lady Tigers scoreless for the first 11:57 of the second half en route to a 43-28 non-district basketball victory here Tuesday night.
In a game that featured 52 combined turnovers – 27 by the Lady Tigers and 25 by the Lady Horns – Early trailed 16-10 after one quarter and 21-19 at halftime. But the Lady Horns held May without a point in the third period to open a 28-21 edge that had ballooned to 32-21 before the Lady Tigers logged their first points of the second half on a three-pointer with 4:03 remaining.
Early (2-1) was led by Madison Torrez with 13 points, Averey Horton with 11, Caroline Welker and Dakota Barksdale with six apiece, Trinity Torrez with three, and Jodie Lykes and Saydi Vasquez with two points each.
Igniting the effort for May (2-2) were Jordyn Gerhardt with nine points, Mia Musick with eight, Estrella Bustamante with four, McKenna Landes and Kenleigh Williford with three apiece, and Ashley Nnanami with one point.
Down 8-2 to start the game, May closed the first quarter with 14 of the final 16 points to open a 16-10 advantage after one frame.
Early clawed back in the second quarter and reclaimed an 18-17 lead on a bucket by Horton with 2:01 left in the half. A three-pointer by Landes with 39 seconds left before halftime pushed May back in front, and Williford tacked on a free throw with 28 seconds left to establish a 21-19 halftime edge for the Lady Tigers.
Welker pulled Early even at 21 with 4:37 left in the first period, then a pair of free throws from Madison Torrez staked the Lady Horns to 23-21 lead at the 2:55 juncture of the third, an advantage they would never relinquish.
Trinity Torrez knocked down Early’s only three-pointer with 1:21 left in third quarter.
May’s second-half shooting echoed the first as the initial successful field goal was a three-pointer – this time from Gerhardt midway through the fourth period that trimmed the deficit to 32-24.
Eight points was as close as May came in the fourth period, the last time on a free throw by Gerhardt with 1:03 on the clock. The Lady Horns then tallied the final seven points of the contest.
The Lady Horns will next take part in the Bangs tournament Thursday through Saturday, while the Lady Tigers are set to host Newcastle at 6 p.m. Friday.
