Pictured is Kiara Vasquez
After a bumpy start to the 2A-4 District Tournament, thanks to a nationwide ice age that put all gameplay on hold for a week and left teams wondering will they or won’t they, a decision was made that got the District ball rolling again. The Magazine Lady Rattlers finished conference play with a 5-5 record which enabled them to score the #4 seed in the District Tournament. Hitting the court in the second round, the Lady Rattlers hosted the #5 seed Lavaca Lady Arrows on Monday, February 22. Although Magazine had a really good feeling about the outcome of this game, considering in their two previous match-ups the Lady Rattlers combined for 105 points to Lavaca’s combined 57, they still didn’t want to count their chickens before they hatched.
The Lady Rattlers were out of reach from the Lady Arrows grasp immediately after hitting the court. The first quarter ended with a score of 19-3 Magazine. With each hop, chop, and block, the Lady Rattlers became harder and harder for the Lady Arrows to see until eventually, Magazine was so far ahead they looked like a speck in the distance. The Lady Rattlers strolled away with a 51-24 victory along with a bid to Regionals. The last time the Lady Rattlers made a Regional appearance was during the 2016-2017 season. Kylie Robinson and Kiara Vasquez each netted 19 points followed by Jordyn Krigbaum with 6, Raymie Davis with 5, and Elizabeth Greek with 2. Carly Parrish scored 3 rebounds and the Lady Rattlers shot 48% from the floor and 82% from the free-throw line.
Going into the match, the Lady Rattlers knew that in order to get a win, they were going to have to stay in front of as well as contesting the shots of Lavaca’s two best guards. “We shot the ball pretty well Monday night,” expressed Coach Randy Loyd. “We made 8/15 from the 3 point line and 9/11 from the FT line. I thought we defended the best we have all year.” With this win, the Lady Rattlers move on to the semi-final round of Districts on Thursday, February 25, where they will face the #1 seeded Acorn Lady Tigers at 4 pm. “Acorn’s depth makes them so tough for us to match up with. They are such good shooters that we will have to get out on everybody. We had the lead with about 4:00 minutes to go in our last game at their place but we wore down a little eventually turning it over and at the end they got us. This time, we will have to handle the extended pressure for the entire game.”
Photos courtesy of Magazine School District
