Sometimes you get a game that just sticks in your head after you watch it as one of the great ones. It’s one of those games where the effort, the determination, the downright grit of the athletes and coaches from both teams seem to make the scoreboard seem irrelevant at times. If you were in attendance at the Mansfield High School gymnasium on Tuesday, February 14th and saw the Lavaca Lady Golden Arrows take on the JC Westside Lady Rebels in Round2 of the 2A-4 District Tournament then you know that one of those “sometimes games” was that game.
The game started off with some nice passing by Lavaca, but the Lady Golden Arrows couldn’t capitalize on their opening possession with points. Instead, it was the Lady Rebels who scored first with a long range three-point shot. A Lavaca foul then allowed JC Westside to sink a free throw to take an early 4-0 lead. An offensive rebound and put back by the Lady Rebels added to their lead and forced Lavaca to take a time out with 4:32 left in the quarter. Lavaca’s passing game finally opened up to what they wanted as the Lady Golden Arrows connected with a hook shot to break JC Westside’s momentum. Just as soon as Lavaca stopped JC Westside’s momentum, they picked up their own as the Lady Golden Arrows tied the game up at 6-6 off of free throws and a layup. The teams then took turns putting up points in the paint until the opening quarter ended with a narrow 11-10 JC Westside lead.
Lavaca came out smoking hot to start the second quarter as the Lady Golden Arrows went on a 12-3 run on JC Westside. The game was turning into a one-way golden street for Lavaca’s offense leaving JC Westside’s defense looking a little bit gassed. The Lady Rebels finally started putting it back together with two minutes left in the quarter by hanging nine straight points on Lavaca to close the score to a 23-21 Lady Golden Arrow lead. Both teams then proceeded to take turns with fouls and turnovers which slowed the games pace down. Lavaca would hit a free throw with 0:04 seconds left in the half and prepared to head into the half with 0:02 on the clock. That’s when the Lady Rebels fired off a half court cannon ball that smoked through the net at the buzzer to tie the game 24-24.
With a new half and a tied score, both teams got a fresh start. But who who’d take advantage of it? Lavaca would take advantage first with a pair of free throws to break the tie and take the lead 26-24. Lavaca knew two points wouldn’t suffice though so the Lady Golden Arrows added a board bucket and drew a plus one on a foul to gain a five-point lead. Lavaca was getting hot, but fouls kept the Lady Rebels on ice forcing JC Westside to call a time out at the 3:50 mark of the third quarter. JC Westside broke free of their frosty situation with a three-point shot, but that was after an 11-0 run by the Lady Golden Arrows. Lavaca continued their dominance all the way down to a 38-27 score at the end of the third quarter.
Trying to make up for a rough third quarter, JC Westside scored first off of a free throw to open the final quarter of play. The Lady Rebels then closed the game down to a six-point lead with back-to-back board buckets in the paint. The cannon balls and arrows were beginning to fly again as both teams pulled out all the stops to earn a prized spot in Round3 of the tournament. Lavaca pulled out the lead back out to twelve points before the Lady Rebels broke the streak with a free throw. JC Westside then sank two threes to bring the scoreboard back down within nine points, but Lavaca wasn’t deterred as they continued to light up the scoreboard enroute to a 53-44 final score and the victory.
The Lady Golden Arrows used their tenacity in the face of adversity to punch their ticket to Round3 of the 2A-4 District Tournament. Lavaca will have just a single day to rest up after their hard-fought win as they will play again on Thursday, February 16th at 7:00pm at the Mansfield High School gymnasium. Thier opponent will be the number two seeded Mansfield Lady Tigers. The winner of that game will head directly to the 2A-4 District Championship game while the loser will have to settle for playing in the third-place game at 4:00pm.
