Sports

2013 HONDO HS TENNIS SCHEDULE

HIGH SCHOOL

Date	Tournament
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 1-2	at Uvalde
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 8-9	at Ingram
Fri-Sat., Feb. 15-16	Uvalde
Fri.-Sat., Feb. 22-23	at Fredericksburg
Fri.-Sat., March 1-2	at Team Regionals, Harlingen
Fri.-Sat., Mar. 8-9	at Team State, Abilene
Thu.-Sat., Mar. 21-23	at Fredericksburg
Fri.-Sat., April 5-6	DIST. 29-AAA TOURNEY, HONDO
Wed.-Thu.., Apr. 17-18	Region IV-3A Tourney at Corpus Christi
Mon.-Tues., Apr. 29-30	State 3A Tourney at Austin

HOME MATCHES IN CAPS

Head Coach: Chris Schulte

Schedules subject to change

PHOTO BY CHARLES CARLSON
Candace Carroll prepares to go up for a first quarter bucket in theHondo girls’ bi-district win over La Vernia. The Owls now have reached the area round of the playoffs for the seventh straight year, and will take on Navarro this Friday in Floresville.

Hondo wins defensive battle with La Vernia

By Jeff Berger
Anvil Herald Sports Editor

San Antonio -- A 15-0 Hondo run, over a nine-minute span of the first half propelled the Owls to a girls’ bi-district basketball victory over La Vernia Monday, Feb. 13.

The 39-28 win was the 20th of the season for the Owls, who entered the year in a rebuilding mode, and can now call themselves bi-district champions. It’s Hondo’s fourth straight 20-win season and seventh consecutive bi-district championship, which will bring with it a seventh straight gold ball to the trophy case.

With the victory, the Owls (20-16) will move on to the area round of the playoffs, where they’ll play Navarro, the champion of 26-AAA. The game is set for this Friday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m., in Floresville.

Navarro (28-5) enters the game ranked #12 in the Feb. 13 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches 3A girls’ poll.

The Owls’ accomplishments were not lost on Head Coach DJ Denton. “This is so huge for this team,” she said, also noting that the win marked the first time this season that the Owls had avenged a loss to a team that had previously beaten them. “I’m so proud of them and their effort.”

The game was a defensive battle the entire way, but the Owls turned things in their favor starting late in the first period.

The Lady Bears took a 7-5 lead when Kristine Key scored after an offensive rebound with 3:10 left in the first. From that point, the Owls put up the next 15 points.

Candace Carroll got it started with a three-pointer, then immediately stole the inbounds pass and hit a short jumper to put the Owls ahead 10-7. Christina Faseler grabbed a miss and put it in for a 12-7 lead which held until the quarter ended.

Freshman Tyler Barnes sank two free throws -- she was 7-of-8 at the line -- 90 seconds into the second period. Cindy Stanukinos scored off an offensive rebound, Barnes hit a running jumper, and Hannah Bohmfalk took a pass from Maggie Sunderman for a bucket to give the Owls a 20-7 lead with 4:20 left in the period.

Hondo went cold, not scoring again in the half, but the defense stayed solid, holding LV to just two points in the quarter, which came at the two-minute mark. The Owls led 20-9 at the half.

The Owls didn’t put up much offense in the third, scoring only on a Bohmfalk shot -- created by a J’Lynn Rothe steal and assist -- and 3-of-4 free throws from Reagan Luce during the first seven minutes. Still, the defense kept LV from clawing its way back into the game, as the Owls still led 25-18.

With time running down in the period, Barnes drove the left side of the lane for a layup to give the Owls a seven-point lead. As the Lady Bears pushed the ball up the floor, Sunderman turned in the play of the game, stealing a pass and driving three-quarters of the court to hit a layup at the buzzer. That put Hondo back up 29-18, with an 11-point margin just as they had at halftime.

LV began to make a run of its own in the fourth, scoring five points in the first minute-and-a-half. Hondo, however, took its lead back to 10 with one free throw and a Sunderman three-pointer, with only six minutes left.

The Lady Bears proceeded to hit 3-of-6 FTs over the next two minutes, before Hondo began to milk the clock. Leading by seven, the Owls began to spread the floor and drained the clock down to 2:30. Then they were victimized by an official’s call on a pass which LV tipped into the backcourt. When Hondo retrieved, the Owls were called for an over-and-back violation. The Lady Bears turned that into a bucket, cutting Hondo’s lead down to five with 2:20 to play.

The 33-28 score was as close as the game had been since the end of the first quarter, but it didn’t get any closer. The Owl defense didn’t give up another point, but Barnes hit four clutch free throws and Luce hit a layup to ice the win.

Barnes and Sunderman were both in double figures for the Owls with 11 and 10 points.

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