EARLY – After dropping their first three games of the season, the Early Lady Horns chalked up their first basketball victory of the 2024-25 campaign, and the Shayla Martinez coaching era, 54-31 over the Coleman Bluekatts Tuesday night.
“We came ready to play,” Martinez said. “I knew they were itching for a win and I told them at some point it’s our turn so step up and play the way you know how to play, and that’s what they did from the get-go.”
The Lady Horns led throughout the contest – 13-11 after one quarter, 26-19 at halftime, and 43-26 heading into the fourth period – as Early’s full-court pressure created 39 Coleman turnovers.
“When I got the job here I told the girls I wanted to come in and press for four quarters,” Martinez said. “It wears teams down and we have the depth this year with 11 on varsity. That’s what I’ve been preaching to the kids, when you’re in, you’re in there attacking, just in their face. Last year they ran a zone and we switched to a man defense this year and it’s worked really well for us.”
The Lady Horns were sparked offensively by Aliyah Harlan with 14 points followed by Jordan Simmons with 11, Jamie Vassar with nine, Gabby Benson and Avery Williams with five apiece, Kayleigh Torrez with four, and Pearl Sharp, Andie Simpson, and Cali Vargas with two points apiece.
Coleman was led by seven points from Lexi Foster, six points each from Lily Norris and Addi Dawson, five from Jaymie Russell, four from Karley Hale, two from Jaylie Steffey and one point from Claire Auldridge.
The next action for Early (1-3) is 10 a.m. Saturday at Miles.
Regarding the outlook for the season, Martinez said, “My expectations are high for this group. I started watching them in May, so six months ago, and I knew from the first time I watched them they had potential and all the key components. We have bigs, we have shooters, we have depth, we have all the pieces for a successful team, now it’s just putting it all together. We’re still growing, but we’re shooting for the playoffs this year. It’s been a while since Early’s been to the playoffs, but that’s something the girls want and that’s something we’re working toward.”
