ANDREW SALMI andrew.salmi@granitemedia partners.com
The Taylor High School girls varsity basketball team handled business at home Tuesday, Nov. 21 as the Lady Ducks defeated the Tigerettes of nearby Thrall High School by a score of 49-36 to head into Thanksgiving break on a winning note after taking care of business.
This Lady Ducks squad under Head Coach Lawrence Bailey got off to a very fast start in the first quarter and played extremely tight team defense and maintained a 15-4 advantage over the Tigerettes after the first quarter of play. However, this gritty 2A Thrall team continued to hang around with 4A Taylor and did not let them pull very far away throughout the contest and stayed within striking distance as the Lady Ducks maintained a 29-15 lead at halftime.
Taylor kept its foot on the gas pedal in the second half and was led by the scoring duo of senior Asia Zachary and sophomore Madyson Mitchell. Zachary had a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds on the afternoon, while Mitchell also scored in double figures against Thrall with 11 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists.
Lady Ducks junior Sophia Fisher had 10 points and six rebounds in the victory, while fellow junior Kionayh Rivers had 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals, three blocked shots and three points.
As for Thrall, the Tigerettes got some solid three-point shooting from senior Ashlyn Jarosek as she had a team-high 13 points in the loss to Taylor. Tigerettes sophomore Kinley Hoffman scored in double figures with 10 points and added five rebounds, while fellow sophomores Cynthia Walker and Brynn Leschber were also effective on the glass for Thrall with nine rebounds and seven rebounds, respectively.
The Lady Ducks also played Nov. 20 against a very good 6A Stony Point High School squad in Rock Rock but were edged 47-43 by the Lady Tigers. Zachary again led the way for Taylor with a team-high 14 points, while Mitchell and Rivers each added eight points on the afternoon for the Lady Ducks in the close loss to Stony Point.
Taylor (3- 4 overall record) will next host Bastrop High School Nov. 28 at 6:30 p.m. while Thrall (3-2) will return home next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. to host Lexington High School.
