…First wins of the season earn the Cowgirls 5th Place
The Ryan Cowgirls fell in the first round of the Black and Gold Classic at Wilson High School last Thursday, but came back to capture a pair of victories and earn the consolation title of the tourney.
The Cowboys got a first-round win over Temple last Thursday, but dropped the final two games of the tourney at Wilson to finish fourth.
The Cowgirls took the consolation title with a 51-44 victory over Temple last Saturday.
Ryan moved into the consolation finals with a win over the Pauls Valley Junior Varsity.
Springer handed the Cowgirls the first-round defeat that put Ryan into the consolation bracket.
The Cowgirls’ Jasmine Villarreal was named to the all-tournament team for her play during the three games of the tourney.
The Cowboys were successful in their first round contest with Temple last Thursday, but lost to Springer in the semifinals.
In the third place game, the Cowboys hit a scoring drought in the second half and fell to Elmore City-Pernell.
Cowgirls 51, Temple 44
In Saturday’s game, the Cowgirls fought off a barrage of three-point shots by the Lady Tigers to secure the consolation bracket title.
Of eleven made field goals for the Lady Tigers in the game, nine of them were behind the arc and that helped keep Temple in the game. The Lady Tigers were also 13 of 17 from the charity stripe.
Temple actually had a first quarter lead at 10-8, but the Cowgirls began to take control in the second quarter when they outscored the Lady Tigers, 16-12, to hold a 24-22 lead at the break.
Villarreal, Kamrie Hernandez and Maci Cooper all connected on three-pointers to help the Cowgirls get the lead.
In the third quarter, Villarreal and Cooper each hit a trey and that helped Ryan outscore Temple, 13-10, and that increased the lead to 37-32 heading into the final quarter.
The Cowgirls outscored the Lady Tigers, 14-12, in the fourth quarter to set the final margin.
Villarreal finished with 20 points, while Hernandez had a career high 16 points for the Cowgirls.
The Cowgirls did hit six treys of their own in the game and they were all needed as Ryan only made it to the free throw line five times and the Cowgirls connected on three of them.
ECP 39, Cowboys 37
In the third quarter the Cowboys were in front, 33-23, but the Badgers outscored the Cowboys, 16-4, in the final 12 minutes of the game to get the victory in Saturday’s third-place game.
The Cowboys built a slim 12-10 advantage during the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Cowboys got eight points in the paint by Braydon Bergeron and that helped the Cowboys gain a 24-21 advantage at the half.
It looked like the Cowboys would pull away, but midway through the third quarter the Cowboys could not find the range and failed to score the rest of the quarter.
This enabled the Badgers to cut the Ryan lead to 33-32 after three periods.
In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys could only muster four points – two free throws by Racen Williams and a bucket by Bergeron.
This enabled the Badgers to continue to rally and eventually gain the lead and while the Badgers only scored seven points in the final quarter, it would be good enough to get the victory.
Bergeron had a career-high 14 points to pace the Cowboys in scoring, but he was the only player in double figures for the Cowboys.
Cowgirls 48, PV JV 24
In Friday’s consolation semifinal contest, the Cowgirls pulled away in the middle two quarters to double up the Lady Panthers.
The Cowgirls held a narrow 8-6 advantage after one quarter, but in the second quarter five different Cowgirls scored and Ryan outscored the Lady Panthers, 14-3, to lead 22-9 at the intermission.
The Cowgirls increased the lead in the third quarter by outscoring Pauls Valley, 14-9, and that put the Cowgirls in front, 36-18.
In the fourth quarter, the Cowgirls continued to pull away outscoring the Lady Panthers, 12-6, to give Ryan the 24-point victory.
The Cowgirls were able to get the big victory despite connecting on only 13 of 24 attempts from the charity stripe.
Villarreal had 25 points to lead the Cowgirls in scoring and Libby Carter had a season-high 10 points.
Springer 65, Cowboys 55
The Cardinals held Ryan at bay in the early part of the game and then pulled away in the third quarter to pick up the victory and move into the finals of the tourney.
The Cowboys were dismal at the free throw line during the game connecting on only 15 of 32 tries from the line.
In the first quarter Wilson managed an 18-14 advantage.
The Cowboys tried to rally in the second quarter, but the Cardinals outscored Ryan, 18-14, and went to the locker room with a 36-28 lead.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys tried to cut into the lead, but Springer was able to outscore the Cowboys, 17-15 in the period and carry a 10-point advantage into the final period of play.
Free throw shooting in the fourth quarter in particular hampered the Cowboys’ ability to rally. The Cowboys hit only five of 10 tries from the free throw line and only two players were able to score from the field in the quarter for Ryan.
Xavier Guzman had 25 points to pace the Cowboys in scoring and Julian Rodriguez added 21 points giving Ryan two 20+ scorers in a game for the first time this season.
Only three other Cowboys found the scoreboard and they combined for only nine points.
Springer 68, Cowgirls 40
In last Thursday’s first round the Cowgirls ran into a red-hot Springer squad.
The Lady Cardinals connected on 11 three-pointers and while the Cowgirls had six long-range field goals in the game, they could not keep up with Springer.
The Cowgirls actually held a 19-15 lead after one quarter as Cooper, Villarreal and Hernandez all had three-pointers in the quarter.
Over the second and third quarters, Springer heated up and the Cowgirls were stone cold.
Springer outscored the Cowgirls, 23-7, in the second quarter to post a 38-26 advantage at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Cardinals went on a 19-0 run leaving the Cowgirls with a 57-26 deficit.
While the Cowgirls outscored Springer in the fourth quarter, 14-11, they could not overcome the failure to score in the third quarter and Ryan was sent to the consolation bracket.
Hernandez had 10 points to pace the Cowgirls and while nine other Cowgirls scored – the most in a game in the young season – none of them were able to reach double figures.
Cowboys 55, Temple 44
The Cowboys picked up their first victory of the season despite going to the free throw line only twice during the game.
Ryan built a 17-10 advantage after one quarter but the Cowboys had to hold off the Tigers throughout the remainder of the game.
In the second quarter, Ryan extended the lead as they outscored the Tigers, 12-9, to gain a 29-19 advantage at the half.
Temple connected on three treys in the third quarter and were able to outscore the Cowboys, 17-15, and that cut the Ryan lead to eight points heading into the final quarter.
The Cowboys were able to prevent the Tigers from a further rally by holding an 11-8 edge in the final quarter to set the final score.
Three Cowboys scored in double figures against the Tigers. Williams was the top point-getter with 18 points and Guzman added 17 points. Bergeron chipped in 12 points.
