Ladycats suffer first defeat of the season

In spite of being without the services of seniors Kinley Elms and Ella Isbell, who were with the Ladycats volleyball team in their quest for a state title, Aledo’s varsity girls hoops squad is off to a solid start under new head coach, Donny Ott. 

The Ladycats, ranked No. 13 in Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, entered their game against the No. 4 in 4A Decatur Lady Eagles with an unblemished 4-0 record. Decatur (6-2) handed the hosting Ladycats their first loss of the season, 41-38, in a highly physical matchup on Tuesday, Nov. 19. 

But for Ott, there were a lot of positives he saw in his ballclub.

“Anybody in attendance just saw a phenomenal high school basketball game by both teams,” Ott gushed after the game. “I can’t in any way be disappointed at all with our effort. I thought we battled for four quarters. It was just an incredible high school basketball game. Unfortunately, we just didn’t make enough plays to finish it.”

As tightly contested as the game was on the scoreboard throughout, it was even more so on the floor. Aledo got out early on the Lady Eagles after Elizabeth Griffin and Brooklyn Dempsey splashed back-to-back three-pointers to put the Ladycats up 6-2 with just over six minutes left in the opening stanza. 

Decatur opted to use their first timeout of the half following Dempsey’s long-range drop in order to keep the home team from running away with the game early.

As play resumed the pace up and down the floor was only matched by the level of physicality inflicted by both teams. An unwillingness by the officiating crew to blow the whistle for fouls left players at both ends of the floor with little choice than to meet force with force. 

In the midst of the frenetic pace and the battle royal taking place up and down the court, the Ladycats held their own in the first quarter. Griffin tickled the twine with her second three-pointer of the quarter with 1:40 left to play, increasing Aledo’s lead to 11-5 with the clock winding down. 

The Lady Eagles answered back with a three of their own to cut the lead in half as the quarter came to a close with the Ladycats holding the advantage, 11-8.

As the second quarter got underway, the game only became more physical. The two teams went shot-for-shot on the scoreboard and push for push on the floor.

Yet, the Ladycats kept plugging away led by Griffin and Dempsey, as the home team took a 23-18 lead into the break.

As the second half got underway, Decatur began to find their stride. The Lady Eagles posted their best scoring quarter of the game with 15 points, as they regained the lead for the first time since the opening bucket less than a minute into the game.

Defensively, Decatur had an answer for everyone on the floor sporting an Aledo jersey except for Tiara Butler. She refused to back down as she fought tooth and nail down in the paint. Her tenacity in the third quarter kept the Ladycats in the game as she accounted for all seven of Aledo’s points in the frame.

With Aledo trailing by three, 33-30, to start the fourth quarter, the officiating crew began to reign in the physicality. The teams battled down the stretch with Griffin knocking down a three-pointer with 17 seconds left in regulation.

However, Decatur was in the bonus and Aledo was forced to foul in order to preserve the clock. The Lady Eagles sank both free throws, increasing the lead back to three points and thus, producing the final.

“It was extremely physical,” Ott noted. “It was rough. It was both ways. But the thing I’m most proud about is our kids didn’t back down. They competed hard. They fought tooth and nail. 

“I feel 125-percent like we got better tonight. All those kids in there, I know they’re gassed, but I’m just proud to be their coach right now knowing I have a team that fights that hard.”