The Llano High School girls basketball team continued its incredible march through District 5-3A to stay in first place in the standings.
The Lady Jackets (10-11, 6-0) left no doubt in a 43-28 victory against Brady Jan. 21 on the heels of beating Blanco 41-19 Jan. 17 and Comfort 42-10 Jan. 14.
'They bought into what we're doing,' head coach Jay Parker said. 'We're getting better at our matchup zone.
They're playing hard for each other. We knew it was going to be hard. That's the sign of a good team when you can make adjustments. We continue to get better every game.'
Brady played like the two-time defending district champions in the rematch against Llano in the opening stanza.
Llano sophomore forward Hailey Lucas tied the game at 2-2, which triggered a run with a bucket from sophomore guard Addison Priem for a 6-2 lead.
But the Lady Bulldogs answered with a 5-0 run in the final 90 seconds to take a 7-6 advantage going into the second period.
Junior post Peyton Parrish scored on an offensive rebound to give Llano an 8-7 lead. From there, the rout was on as Brady could only muster two points early in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Llano got buckets from Priem, senior guard Ciara Hays and sophomore forward Anna Machuga for a 17-9 lead at the half.
The Lady Jackets added to the advantage even when reserves took over midway through the period. Junior guard Bailey Niemeyer added a 3-point play and junior guard Kenna Moore scored on a fastbreak for a 29-14 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Hays led the way with 10 points followed by Priem with 7, junior guard Sydney Kuykendall and Parrish each scored 6, senior forward Amelia Robinson added 4, Niemeyer and Lucas dropped in 3 apiece, and Machuga and Moore each finished with 2.
One big reason for the lopsided win was that Llano scored 15 free throws.
'We struggled with free throws all year long. That was definitely an improvement,' Parker said. 'In the first half, we held them to 9 points. I thought our defense did a pretty good job. In the second half, our defense and offense struggled a bit. But to still get the win was important. They still battled and got the win.'
Llano raced to an 8-0 start against Blanco for a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter only to have the Lady Panthers respond by taking a 15-14 advantage in midway through the second period.
But the Lady Jackets got a bucket from Moore to give her team the lead then Kuykendall added a free throw for a 17-15 advantage with 1:43 left. Niemeyer added another bucket from the low block to give Llano a 19-15 lead at the half.
That's as close as Blanco would get. The Lady Panthers scored only four free throws in second half as the Lady Jackets' lockdown defense --- without fouling --- made the last two quarters fly.
Meanwhile Robinson, bucket thanks to a pass from Kuykendall. Robinson added a jumper then a 3-pointer, while Moore and Kuykendall each scored on jumpers. Machuga dropped in a free throw for a commanding 35-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Robinson finished with 11 points followed by Priem with 8, Kuykendall scored 7, Lucas added 6, Moore dropped in 4, Niemeyer and Parrish each scored 2, and Machuga finished with 1.
Parker said the team made half-time adjustments, which was the result of foul trouble, and was pleased with the results.' I thought our bench did well,' he said. 'They came in and were solid. They came out and played well.'
In addition, the Lady Jackets clamped down even harder on Blanco seniors Kaylee Romero and Ava Silva. Romero finished with 12 points and Silva didn't score.
'We knew they were decent shooters, we talked about that,' the coach said. 'We let one get away from us. She knocked down three 3-pointers in the first half. We took that away.'
Parker added that he isn't surprised by what he's seeing.
'I know what we're capable of doing,' he said. 'My girls are getting after it. We have to be disciplined on defense. I'm hoping we see a better defensive stand by the Lady Jackets. The girls are having fun and buying into it.'
Llano hosts Ingram Tom Moore Friday, Jan. 24, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6:15 p.m. The Lady Warriors were a game behind the Lady Jackets in the district standings.
'Now that everybody has seen everybody once, it'll be tougher,' Parker said. 'I'm proud of my girls. Ingram is a big game.'
