Angeleigh Davis led Hays with 16 points against San Marcos to hep set up a showdown with rival Del Valle for the district title Tuesday night at Bales Gym.
By Jason Gordon
The Hays girls basketball team was primed for an upset.
After winning nine district games in a row and with a showdown against rival Del Valle for the district title looming Tuesday, the Lady Rebs easily could have been looking past San Marcos Friday night.
Hays quickly showed San Marcos they came ready to play, however, as the Lady Rebels took total control of the game at the Snake Pit from the outset, jumping out to a 9-0 lead on two Ashley Rankine 3-pointers and another long ball from behind the arc from Chrissy Arias.
Hays was never threatened in a 57-44 win.
Rankine added another 3-pointer for good measure to help stake the Lady Rebels to an 18-6 lead after the first quarter.
“I think the 9-0 start showed we were focused,” Arias said. “We know we have a big game Tuesday, but we had to win this one first.”
Lady Rebel forward Angeleigh Davis turned up the heat in the second quarter, scoring 10 points in the frame and Hays led 31-15 at the break.
Davis led Hays with a game-high 16 points and Rankine finished with 13 points for the Lady Rebs.
Hays (22-8, 10-0) can now turn its full attention to Del Valle, which is 28-2 overall and 8-1 in district play. The Lady Cards’ lone district loss came against the Lady Rebs three weeks ago. The two square off Tuesday night at Hays’ Bales Gym.
“It will take every single one of us to beat Del Valle again,” Rankine said. “We have to be smart and keep our intensity level up the entire game.”
Arias agreed district games don’t get much bigger or tougher than Tuesday night’s contest against the Lady Cardinals.
“We’re going to spill each other’s blood on the court,” Arias said. “It’s always great to see two very good teams going after the same goal. They want to win district as badly as we do. We love playing Del Valle because we know it will always be an intense game.”
Hays and Del Valle have split six games over the past two seasons. The Lady Rebs beat the Lady Cardinals 41-40 in last year’s Class 4A Region III final in a game that propelled Hays to the state tournament.
If Hays wins Tuesday night, the Lady Rebs will clinch the outright District 17-4A title. If Del Valle wins, the two will likely have a one-game playoff at the end of the regular season to determine who gets the district’s top seed in the playoffs.
Tipoff Tuesday night at Bales Gym is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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