Down 12 points in fourth quarter, Ladycats come back strong to take 55-47 victory over O.D. Wyatt

After Fort Worth O.D. Wyatt canned its eighth three-point bucket of the game and followed with a short jumper to take a 45-33 lead early in the fourth quarter, Aledo came back with 22 points as the Ladycats defeated the Lady Chaparrals, 55-47, Tuesday afternoon in a girls' non-district basketball game at the AHS gym.

The win levels the Ladycats' record to 5-5, while Wyatt drops to 7-2.

“This win is encouraging just to know the girls didn’t quit,” Ladycats head coach Nikki Hyles said. “We won’t have blowouts every game, and after a win like this the girls know they can come back if they get down."

Hyles felt a factor in the outcome was the Ladycats' patience on offense. She said her team did not try to force anything offensively even when down by double digits in the fourth quarter.

"The key was we kept playing,” Hyles said. “I don’t feel like we played well early in the game; they got hot and we got down. But I feel like in the end the discipline of our offense and taking care of the ball – we had fewer turnovers in the second half – made a big difference.”

Wyatt was helped early in the contest by its perimeter shooting. The Lady Chaps hit five threes in the first half to take a 25-15 lead at the break. The Ladycats chipped away at the lead in the third period as Wyatt took a 38-31 lead into the fourth quarter.

After opening the final stanza on a 7-2 run to take a 45-33 lead, Wyatt began to get cold from outside. With Wyatt leading 47-39 halfway through the fourth period, Aledo began to drive the lane to get to the free-throw line.

A pair of free throws by Maddie Shumway and a charity shot by Audrey Pearce cut the lead to 47-42. Shumway and Pearce each recorded double doubles as Shumway scored 15 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, while Pearce finished with 12 points and 11 boards.

Wyatt's next three possessions ended with missed three-point attempts, and the Ladycats made them pay. Aledo turned those three missed shots into six points to take its first lead of the game, 48-47, with 2:22 left in the contest.

Pearce began the run on a put back of an offensive rebound before scoring on a short jumper - thanks to a nifty kick-out pass by a lane-driving Haley Herrin - and Riley Sale followed with a pair from the charity stripe. Sale led all scorers with 18 points.

Wyatt continued to struggle offensively, and a free throw by Elizabeth Allanach followed by a put back from Kylie Anderson extended the Ladycats' lead to 51-47 with just under a minute remaining in the contest.

Wyatt turned the ball over and was forced to foul with 45 ticks left on the clock. Sale made both free throws to increase the lead to 53-47.

Wyatt failed to score on its ensuing possession, and had to foul Sale again. The junior canned both charity shots to close the scoring.

Also scoring for the Ladycats were Allanach with seven points, Anderson with two and Herrin with one.

The Ladycats will take a week off and return to non-district action at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Stephenville.