STANTON — Jim Kinnear may have a few more gray hairs after Tuesday night, but his Bulldogettes remain undefeated in district play after grappling with a tough Lady Buffaloes team.
Coahoma pulled out a 37-33 win in the fourth quarter after going toe-to-toe with Stanton for most of the match.
“This was a tough game,” Kinnear said. “As far as the first three quarters, we just did enough to survive, but then we came alive in the fourth quarter. We started doing some good things offensively, but more importantly we did better on defense. I think defense was the key tonight for pulling that victory out.”
Neither team was able to gain a true advantage throughout three quarters of play. Coahoma ended the first with a one-point lead (7-6), but Stanton ended the half up by two (15-17) after out scoring the Bulldogettes 11-8.
Returning from the locker room, the Lady Buffaloes looked on the verge of taking command of the game after they expanded their lead to five points. Then Katelyn Johnson sank a 3-point shot at the 3:30 mark and MaKynlee Overton nailed two free throws to knot the score at 24-24.
With the score tied at the start of the fourth quarter, both teams had multiple trips up and down the court before Coahoma ended the stalemate with a field goal by Overton.
Soon after, Isabella Cox snatched the ball away from a Lady Buff player and headed down court to bury a basket for two more. Coahoma finally got a little breathing room after I. Cox nailed a 3-point goal to give the Bulldogettes a 31-26 advantage on the scoreboard.
The Coahoma varsity girls squad went into defense mode for the rest of the game attempting to pressure Stanton into making costly mistakes. It worked.
“We were able to slow things down after that and make them come out and cover us,” Kinnear said. “Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn’t, but the whole objective is to get to the foul line, and we were able to do that.”
Coahoma’s last six points of the game came from foul shots. Both Johnson and I. Cox were spot-on at the charity stripe. Johnson went 4-for-4 and I. Cox was 2-for-2. Coahoma kept turnovers and fouls to a minimum.
Isabella Cox led the Bulldogettes with 10 points. Julia Cox earned 9 and both Katelyn Johnson and MaKynlee Overton had seven points each.
Next: Coahoma (10-4, 3-0) travels to Sonora on Friday for a district matchup against the Lady Broncos. Game time is 6 p.m. The JV game begins at 7:30 p.m.
COAHOMA 37, STANTON 33
Coahoma: 7, 8, 9, 13 -- 37
Stanton: 6, 11, 7, 9 -- 33
Coahoma — Julia Cox 9, Madison Rodgers 4, Isabella Cox 10, Katelyn Johnson 7, MaKynlee Overton 7.
Stanton — Kayleigh Villa 1, Gaby Rodriguez 16, Sydney Harris 7, Zoey Ruiz 5, Rylee Murry 4.
Free Throws — Coahoma 12-19, Stanton 3-4; 3-Point Goals — Coahoma 3 (J. Cox, I. Cox, Johnson); Stanton 4 (Rodriguez 2, Harris, Ruiz); Fouls — Coahoma 12, Stanton16.
Analyse Mendoza runs toward the net while being chased by two Buffalo players during the Coahoma versus Stanton JV game held on Tuesday.
JV Bulldogettes beat Lady Buffaloes
STANTON — Shae Lang led the JV Bulldogettes to a 45-25 victory over the Stanton Lady Buffaloes on Tuesday. Lang had a game high of 24 points. Analyse Mendoza earned nine points for Coahoma and went 4-for-6 at the free throw line. Cayhill Lewis tallied nine.
JV COAHOMA 45, JV Stanton 25
Coahoma — Shae Lang 24, Kenzi Murray 3, Analyse Mendoza 9, Cayhill Lewis 9.
Free Throws — Coahoma 7-15, Stanton 6-11 ; 3-Point Goals — Coahoma 3; Stanton 3 — ; Fouls — Coahoma 13, Stanton 15.