By Briana Amaro
A hard fought effort by the Lehman Lady Lobos Tuesday night wasn’t enough as they fell to the Del Valle Lady Cardinals at the Lobo Den.
The 55-49 defeat was a hard blow following Lehman’s previous win against the Lady Cardinals earlier this season.
Lady Lobos’ head girls basketball coach Jamie Coy said the amount of three-point shots attempted or made by both teams created a different feel from the two teams’ first meeting.
“(Del Valle) ran us down the whole entire time, and our ball movement isn’t always the best,” said Coy.
Leading the pack was freshman Makayla Coy who finished with 22 points and junior Crystal Montoya with 12 points.
Two consecutive foul calls against Lehman (6-12, 1-4) put the Lady Lobos in an early 4-0 hole in the first quarter. Poor defensive coordination by the Lady Lobos allowed for several uncontested shots by Del Valle (3-8, 1-4).
The Lady Lobos fell behind 20-11 at the start of the second quarter.
“We gave up in the first quarter,” Coy said. “(Del Valle) outscored us, out hustled us, and we just fell short the first quarter. It was just a fight ever since that.”
Lehman, however, was able to recover in the second frame. The Lady Lobos defense secured rebounds, which allowed Lehman’s offense opportunities to climb back into the game.
Lehman eventually gained a lead over Del Valle before halftime.
But the Lady Lobos were unable to take advantage of their lead. Lehman’s offense struggled at times, as they missed several scoring opportunities beneath the basket. The Lady Lobos found themselves trailing the Lady Cardinals 25-20 before halftime.
According to Coy, not looking to attack the zone enough and creating ball movement was just a small part that needed work.
A strong Del Valle defense put pressure on the Lady Lobos for most of the third quarter, forcing Lehman to fall out of prime shooting position. Multiple foul calls against Lehman helped the Lady Cardinals cushion their lead.
Del Valle limited Lehman’s offensive opportunities, which allowed them to grow its lead to 36-28 at the start of the final quarter.
Fouls and an off track defense got the best of Lehman and allowed Del Valle to put the game away.
Transition offense and defense are the two key elements Coy said she wants to work on as the season progresses.
