Head coach Heather Hohertz saw the effort, energy and performance she had hoped for out of the Brownwood Lady Lions in their rematch with the Class 2A No. 17 Goldthwaite Lady Eagles Friday night at Warren Gym with one exception – the shots just wouldn’t fall.
Despite limiting Goldthwaite to 13 fewer points than the previous match-up at the Hamilton tournament on Nov. 18, the Lady Lions converted just 26 percent (13 of 49) of their field attempts which resulted in a 49-36 loss.
Brownwood (10-5) hit just 3 of 17 three-pointers (17 percent) and only 10 of 32 (31 percent) shots from inside the three-point arc.
“That’s been a struggle for us the last few games going back to Comanche and Goldthwaite the first time and again tonight,” Hohertz said. “We got the looks we wanted to, we played with the effort and energy we needed to, but you can’t make 10 of 32 two-pointers when most of those are in the paint or right under the goal. We’re right there, we just have to find a way to finish the basketball.”
Hannah Deen was the lone Lady Lion to finish in double figures with 14 points followed by Trinity Roberts with six points, Miranda Northcutt with five, Adyson Neel, Rylie Schaffer and Icess Hall with three apiece, and Kimber Green with two points.
“Hannah attacked the basket really well and finished like she should for the most part,” Hohertz said. “Miranda had a big first half rebounding-wise and with putbacks and Trinity started to find her touch in the second half especially when they doubled down hard. She started spinning away from the defense and finishing.”
Goldthwaite (8-3) received 16 points from Hope Hermesmeyer, 15 from Callie Jernigan, six from Addisyn Howard, four each from Lanna Gore and Abbey Patrick, and two points apiece from Jemma Williams and Mylee Guthrie.
Despite the struggles from the floor, the Lady Lions hung close for the most of the game, trailing 18-11 after one quarter, 25-16 at halftime, and 34-22 going into the final frame.
Down 36-26 with 5:33 left, however, the Lady Lions surrendered consecutive three-pointers in a 19-second stretch to Hermesmeyer – one of which became a four-point play after a foul – as the quick seven-point burst essentially iced the game for Goldthwaite, which led 43-26 at that point.
“We took a break on inbounds defense and we can’t do that,” Hohertz said. “We can’t give up big shots when our defense is set. Those are seven points we can’t get back. We have to be engaged the whole time. We let some mental fatigue get to us, especially with those two possessions, and we fouled a little bit more in the fourth quarter. That’s on me as a coach, we have to get better at that, and we’ll stress it as we get ready for the next couple of games.”
The Lady Lions are back in action at 6:15 p.m. Monday at Burnet.
“I can’t ask for better effort or for them to play any harder, but we have to put it all together,” Hohertz said. “We can be as good as we want to be, but we have to score the basketball, we have to find ways to do that. They fight, they play hard, they practice hard, we’ve just got to find a way to put the ball in the hoop.”
