Lady Wildcats get win

Published January 22, 2013 11:00pm by Josie Musico

Wellman-Union’s Lady Wildcats played the way they needed to Tuesday night, and got what their hard work earned them.

The Lady ‘Cats garnered a 53-42 home win over Dawson after staying a basket or two ahead of the Lady Dragons mid-game and even further toward the end. They were down 11-12 at the end of the first quarter, then up 25-16 at halftime with three-pointers in the second by Tristan Baker and Sierra Wheatley. They maintained a steady lead the entire second half.

Head Coach Todd Ellis noted that unlike past games in which the hoopsters had led early but fallen behind later, this time consistent effort paid.

"The girls did a great job (Tuesday),” he said. "We competed hard for four quarters. I have told them all year long that if they compete hard for four quarters the winning will happen.”

Rosa Olivas led with 15 points, including a near-perfect nine of 10 free-throw ratio. Other scorers included Breck Faught 4-0 1-4 9, Tori Browne 2-0 5-10 9, Tristan Baker 1-1 5, Sierra Wheatley 0-1 1-4 4, Lexi Olivas 1-0 2-4 4 and Abi Lindsey 1-0 1-2 3.

The Wildcats were less fortunate with a 28-43 loss to Dawson. They were down by 10 after each of the first two quarters, then even further after the Dragons landed two successive three-pointers in the third.

Head Coach JoeBob Ussery said he thought his pack played well defensively, but missed shots ultimately meant a missed game. 

Scorers included Luis Gonzales 2-2 10, Vincent Tedford 3-0 1-2 7, Kirby Bailey 2-0 4, Kirk Martin 1-0 1-4 3, Robert Steiger 1-0 2 and Martin Loewen 1-0 2.

Wellman-Union’s girls team is now 3-7 in district and 5-16 overall, while the boys remain frustratingly winless. They will be on the road Friday to face Sands.

Wellman-Union’s junior high boys team lost 12-30 to O’Donnell Monday night. They were only down by four at halftime, but fell further behind the JH Eagles in the third quarter.

"We definitely caught O’Donnell off-guard this time around,” said Coach Isaac Martinez. "They were our first game of this season, and their eyes widened when they saw how much we improved compared to the first game. My boys played hard and made some outstanding plays on both sides of the ball.” 

Marcos Escobar and Esau Macias each contributed four points for the young ‘Cats.