NEW WAVERLY — When the Lady Bulldogs got themselves in a bind Tuesday, they leaned on junior Kayla Williams.
Williams gave New Waverly a big spark, scoring a season-high 39 points with 22 in the opening half, and lifting the Lady Bulldogs to a 57-40 victory over Hearne on Tuesday.
“She’s been playing some good ball,” New Waverly head coach Eldridge McAdams said. “She’s our leader and she’s the one we rely on. She stepped up and that’s what we’ve come to expect from her and that’s what she expects of herself. Anytime we need a point, she’s going to go get it.”
Sophomore Myeisha Williams chipped in nine points. Whitney McCullough, Shelby Nunez and Jai Cleveland each added two points. Alex Abbott contributed a point.
In the first few minutes of the game, neither team was able to produce much offense. Hearne took a 7-5 lead on a layup off a fast break by Justine Price and a free throw by Laresha Monroe, but then the Lady Dogs (6-2) started to hit shots and got into a groove.
New Waverly went on a 12-0 tear, highlighted by steal by Kayla Williams, who went coast to coast for a fast-break layup.
Hearne guard Re’Jana Ellison hit a jumper with 27 seconds left in the first quarter to pull the Lady Eagles to with eight points.
With a 30-15 halftime deficit, Hearne got more aggressive around the basket and got to the free-throw line. The Lady Eagles, however, were unable to convert on their chances and made just four free throws in 11 attempts.
New Waverly kept pushing the ball and scored in transition to maintain its double-digit lead into the fourth quarter.
With a sizeable lead, the Lady Dogs started to slow the game down to milk the clock, but that’s when they began to have problems turning the ball over.
“We’re a transition team,” McAdams said. “Anytime we try to walk the ball up and set up a play, we make turnovers. So we started to get after it, getting the ball up the floor and moving our offense. As we started doing that, we started getting points.
“In the second half, we slowed it down and we were just turning the ball over. That’s just not what we do. We’ve got to keep our foot on the gas. Sometimes we allow ourselves to get turnover prone every time we put it into cruise control.”
Hearne got to within 10 points with less than three and a half minutes to play after Bra’shonda Adams made a layup and hit the extra free throw, completing an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The Lady Dogs got back to playing at a fast pace and Hearne couldn’t answer.
New Waverly extended its lead after Abbott sunk the first of two free throws and Kayla Williams made a layup off a screen by Abbott.
The Lady Dogs held Hearne scoreless the rest of the way, walking away with a comfortable win.
“Our defense kind of tightened up there at the end,” Kayla Williams said. “We’re glad that we were able to get a win in one of our last games before district starts next week.”
The Lady Dogs return to action Thursday when they play Iola at 9:30 a.m. in the opening round of the North Zulch tournament.
Bulldog Sports
Related Photos
-
D.J. Shafer
Discussion
Super-sized boost
Junior guard Kayla Williams pours in season-high 39 points to spark Lady Dogs
- Bulldog Sports
-
-
All-State Bulldogs
After advancing all the way to the regional semifinals as relative unknowns with little playoff experience in 2009, the Bulldogs knew they would have a lot more attention in 2010.
Ranked among the top five in the state for most the season, New Waverly did not disappoint. -
Dynamic Duo
NEW WAVERLY — The taste is still bitter for the Bulldogs.
The New Waverly baseball squad is still haunted from last year’s surprising exit in the regional semifinals against White Oak. The Dogs took game one of the best-of-three series and had a 6-1 lead in the second contest heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Things went terribly wrong from there and New Waverly was left wondering what happened as White Oak rallied to win two in a row and steal the series. -
Complete package
NEW WAVERLY — New Waverly baseball coach Tommy Bohannon was hoping he could talk Hardin, the Bulldogs’ area-round playoff opponent, into moving up next week’s series to accommodate the state track and field meet.
-
New Waverly boys still within range of advancing to state
After finishing their first round on the Oak Hurst Course at Peach Tree Golf Club in Bullard, things looked bleak for the New Waverly boys as they turned in a team score of 372.
-
Bulldogs are back again in 2010
They’ve been here before and know Austin all too well.Two years ago, the New Waverly Bulldogs made their first trip to the state tournament, but it ended rather quickly in a disappointing blowout loss to Tuscola Jim Ned.
Then last March, the Bulldogs got past Shallowater and advanced to the state championship game only to fall to defending state champion Ponder 51-39.
This time around, the Bulldogs are determined to take another step forward and come back with a state championship. They’re back again in 2010, and they say they’re going to finish the job this time. -
Bulldogs pass first test
NEW CANEY — Though it had been more than a week since the New Waverly boys played a meaningful game, the Dogs didn’t show an ounce of rust Thursday night.
With a strong defensive effort, the top-ranked Bulldogs cruised past East Chambers 78-36 and into the Region III quarterfinals where they’ll face either fourth-ranked Kountze or Buffalo early next week. -
Lady Dogs live to play another day
Leading by 16 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Lady Dogs would coast to an easy playoff victory.
The only problem was that Kirbyville never stopped playing. The feisty Ladycats made a game out of it.
Barely, the Lady Dogs held on, escaping with a 52-51 victory in Angelina College’s Shands Gym to advance to the area round of the Class 2A playoffs. - Lady Bulldogs start playoffs Monday night in Lufkin
- Dogs clinch outright district title NEW WAVERLY — If the Bulldogs haven’t already made space in the trophy case, they can do so now.
- Lady Hornets set playoff date The Lady Hornets might have lost out on an outright district title Tuesday night at Willis, but the Lady Hornets got a big win Wednesday.
- More Bulldog Sports Headlines
-
All-State Bulldogs
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
Nevada Highway Patrol, City Settle Beating Case
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
