Ladies struggle early, pick it up late to deny Hearne

Hearne has not won a 20-3A district ball game in some time. They did pretty much everything in their power to try and change that on Tuesday in a clash with Cameron from Yoe Gym. Hearne led the Lady Yoe 20-18 at the half and only trailed by 2 at the end of three before Cameron awoke and put the foot on the accelerator in the fourth for a 41-31 win.

“Hearne had just lost their best player last week and they came in here and played like they wanted it,” said Lady Yoe coach Corey Cunningham following the game. “We weren’t quite ready for their physicality and it caught us off guard. It was back and forth the first three quarters and then in the fourth we started converting some of those turnovers into points.”

Neight team shot well in the first, with Cameron sitting at 3-11 while Hearne was just at 2-12. Yoe guard Qua Workman gave Cameron a 9-8 lead early in the second with a layup inside, and put her team up once again at the five-minute mark, 15-14, with a 3-pointer. Moments later, Terryn Adams also sank a three to put Cameron back up 18-17, but Hearne’s ZaKeia Polk hit a buzzer-beater three to keep most of the momentum with the Lady Eagles at the break.

Cameron’s shooting did not improve much in the third - at just 3-14 from the floor - but an Adams 3-point shot with just 1 second on the clock swayed the lead back to the Lady Yoe, 20-18. NaQuiria Gibbons also hit a three in the fourth, creating the much-needed cushion at 33-26.  

Workman scored in every quarter for the ladies, finishing with a team-high 14 points. She noted that her team just needed a wake-up call to take control of the game late.

“We finally realized we had to push, said the senior. “You could see that they wanted it but we showed that we wanted it more. I think that clicked in our heads.”

After the win, Cunningham told his team that this was an important win in a district that will have plenty more challenges on the horizon.

“I told them that we are in a brutal district and that we needed this game,” said the coach. “Going into the fourth it was a 2-point ball game and they went out there and found a way to win, and I thought that showed a lot of poise and character.”

Stat Leaders

Points: Marquazia Workman (14), Terryn Adams (9), Lauryn Leftwich (7), NaQuiria Gibbons (6)

Rebounds: Leftwich (7), Adams (5), Za’Kara Bryson (3), Marly Spink (2), Gibbons (2)

20-3A Results/Standings

Tuesday’s Results: Cameron Yoe 41 Hearne 31; Academy 66 Rogers 49; Rockdale 59, Jarrell 49; Franklin over Lexington

District Standings: 1. Academy (3-0), 1. Franklin (3-0), 3. Rockdale (2-1), 3. Jarrell (2-1), 5.

Cameron Yoe (1-2), 5. Lexington (1-2), 7. Rogers (0-3), 7. Hearne (0-3).

3A Top 25 Rankings (Dec. 18)

1. Canadian (10-3), 2. Mt. Pleasant Chapel Hill (18-1), 3. Little River Academy (10-2), 4. Sunnyvale (15-1), 5. Wall (10-4), 6. Idalou (13-3), 7. Winnsboro (13-7), 8. Pottsboro (14-3), 9. Jim Ned (9-6), 10. Leonard (13-2), 11. Teague (13-2), 12. Odem (14-4), 13. Mt. Vernon (11-5), 14. Industrial (14-3), 15. Spearman (12-3), 16. Hitchcock (11-5), 17. Woodville (17-14), 18. Brock (14-6), 19. Boling (10-2), 20. Grandview (10-6), 21. Poth (11-3), 22. Cisco (13-3), 23. Schulenburg (15-4), 24. Hallettsville (12-4), 25. Franklin (20-3).