The Brownwood Lady Lions extended their win streak to four games as they opened play in the TexasBank Holiday Classic with a 64-30 victory over China Spring on their home floor at Warren Gym Thursday night.
The Lady Lions (14-6) shot 40 percent (25 of 63) from the field as they converted 29 percent (8 of 27) of their three-pointers, 67 percent (6 of 9) of their free throws, grabbed 35 rebounds, coughed up the ball just 13 times and forced 23 turnovers.
“We came out with really good energy, especially with it being the first game back from a five-day break,” said Lady Lions head coach Heather Hohertz. “It took a little bit for our legs to get under us, but we tried to use everybody in the first quarter so we could catch our second wind. We performed like we needed to.”
The Lady Lions raced out to a 16-6 lead after one quarter, which grew to 26-10 at halftime. But the most impressive stretch of basketball by Brownwood Thursday came to start the second half as the Lady Lions chalked up the first 16 points of the third period to open a 42-10 advantage, not allowing China Spring to light up the scoreboard for 4:02.
“We were attacking the basket and hitting shots we needed to hit,” Hohertz said. “Defensively, we had a lot of pep in our step but got a little tired in the second half. Overall, I was pleased with the effort we brought.”
Kimber Green led the charge offensively with 20 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter alone. Hannah Deen chipped in 13 points, Trinity Roberts tacked on 12, Adyson Neel contributed six, Miranda Northcutt and Kate Tindol both finished with four, Rylie Schaffer drained a three-pointer and Icess Hall added a bucket.
“Trinity turned it on today and it’s been what I’ve been waiting for all season,” Hohertz said. “It was nice to see her come out and be successful and rebounding-wise she attacked the basket. But what I’m most pleased with is she played really good defense on their post player.
“Kimber opened up the game with a three and then caught a couple of layups, and any time a shooter is struggling it helps to get out and get layups and get the touch, and once she finds that touch it also helps her to stay defensively active.”
China Spring (5-13) received 13 points from Kirsten Jewell while Angelina Berry finished with nine points.
The Lady Lions are slated to face Midland Christian at 10:40 a.m. and Nolan Catholic at 4 p.m. Thursday, with both games slated for the Brownwood Coliseum.
“They’re two tough opponents, both like to run full court man so we’ll have to be able to handle the pressure and be ready for them to be up on us for four quarters,” Hohertz said. “We’re going to have to play hard to give ourselves a chance to make the championship game.”
