For the first time in the 2022-23 season, Aledo’s Ladycats are above .500 as they moved to 9-8 on the year after pouncing on Graham last Friday. The 55-14 decimation of the Lady Blues stands as Aledo’s largest margin of victory to date.
“We struggled a little bit early on this season,” Ladycats head coach Nikki Hyles stated after the game. “We played a lot of really good teams. It’s nice to see we learned a lot from that and started to put some things together.”
Putting things together is exactly what the Ladycats did.
Aledo’s defense swarmed the Lady Blues early and often, putting immense pressure on the visiting team from end-to-end of the floor. The Ladycats’ defensive pressure forced numerous turnovers and poor shot selection that kept Graham off the board until the waning seconds of the first quarter. Hannah Williams was finally able to crack open the goose egg for the Lady Blues as she went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe with nine seconds remaining in the opening stanza to get her team on the board.
Meanwhile, on the offensive end of the floor for Aledo it was a case of everything that could go right for the Ladycats did. McKenzie Grau and Reagan Davis dialed up a pair of long-range buckets early to give the home team an early 6-0 advantage. On the ensuing possession by Graham, the Ladycats forced a quick turnover before running their offense like a well-oiled machine. Davis capped off the possession, knocking down a picturesque jump shot from just inside the free-throw line to put Aledo up by eight and force the Lady Blues to take their first timeout of the contest with 4:17 left in the first.
Coming out of the timeout Aledo picked up right where they left off. Claire Byars and Caroline Browning capitalized on some high percentage scoring opportunities down in the paint to put the home team up by a 12-1 tally at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter of action the Ladycats outscored Graham 13-2. Byars, Davis, and Grau led the offensive onslaught for the home team as they each scored three points early in the second frame. Hanna Good and Haley Farmer added buckets of their own along the way as Aledo held a commanding 25-3 lead heading into the break.
“The kids are working hard,” commended Hyles of her team’s effort. “Facing a team like [Graham], sometimes you can get a little bit lax. We really tried to focus on execution and finishing.”
Starting the second half up by 22 points, Aledo had the opportunity to put on the cruise control and coast to victory.
They didn’t take it.
Instead, the Ladycats continued to play with the hammer down, increasing their lead in each of the final two quarters of play all while getting some quality minutes on the floor for the depth of their bench. In all, 11 of the 13 varsity Ladycats contributed to the team tally by putting points on the board.
“All these kids practice so hard every day, so being able to get them some good minutes and playing time and really get them some experience to see what they’re doing in practice and how to put that into a game is great for them,” said Hyles. “It’s great for the team. It’s a culture. This team is really good and tight-knit. It’s nice to see them cheering each other on.”
With the final preseason game under their belt, the Ladycats look ahead as they enter district play.
“We’ve got a strong district,” Hyles mentioned as she prepares her team for the upcoming schedule. “We start off with Wichita Falls Rider. I think they’re down this year. But then we come back with Northwest. It’s going to take some good basketball to get into the playoffs with Granbury, Brewer, Azle, and Saginaw. We’ve got a bunch of good teams in our district.”
The Ladycats were opening District 5-5A play at Wichita Falls Rider at press time. They host Northwest Friday.
| Aledo | 12 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 55 |
| Graham | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 14 |
Reagan Davis 13, Claire Byars 10, McKenzie Grau 8, Presley Hull 5, Kandle Boggus 4, Haley Farmer 4, Kinley Elms 4, Ella Isbell 2, Caroline Browning 2, Hanna Good 2, Natalie Anderson 1
| Aledo | 25 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 48 |
| Graham | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
Elizabeth Griffin 21, Breleigh Mayer 6, Savannah Salas 5, Brenna Clock 5, Kinley Evans 5, August Carlone 2, Peyton Flores 2, McKenna Sweat 2.
| Aledo | 19 | 19 | 10 | 11 | 59 |
| Graham | 5 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 18 |
Alyssa Todd 13, Jordyn Edington 11, Jaylee Owens 8, Mykel Murry 5, Jenna Haussler 5, Mia Valencia 4, Mesoma Emekaokey 4, Lily Heckathorn 3, Coral Slough 2, Mackenzie Bullard 2, Natalie Browning 2
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