Lady Hornets hang on for win over Kingwood Park
Jan. 27—HUNTSVILLE — It took every second, but Huntsville girls basketball was able to walk away with the close win over Kingwood Park.
The Lady Hornets (11-18, 6-1 district 16, 5A) overcame the Lady Panthers late run as they took the 47-44 win.
"We needed this one," Huntsville head coach LaToya Bennett said. "Anytime you are a front runner in district and you take a loss you have to get back in the lab and regroup. I thought on the defensive end we had some lapses guarding the three-point line but as the game progressed we were able to cover up those shooters. Offensively, I thought we could have done a little bit better but we will get back in the lab and work on that."
The Lady Hornets were coming off a loss on Tuesday night against Lufkin and needed something going early to get into a groove. But the Lady Panthers were prepared for that and forced Huntsville to the outside instead of down the middle.
Huntsville struggled to find shots from the inside from their forwards in senior Ja'Navia Gage and junior Chelsea Butler. Gage would lead the Lady Hornets with 15 points but has taken on a point guard role as well.
As Huntsville struggled, Kingwood Park would force 19 turnovers from the Lady Hornets which hit them hard early.
"Anytime a team sits in a zone they want to see if you can shoot from the outside,' Bennett said. "I thought the girls were trying to force the ball inside and they closed the lanes up. Our point guards are going to have to do a better job of getting the ball around the perimeter and looking for the outside shooters."
Offense for Huntsville struggled in the closing half and played a big part in allowing Kingwood Park back into the game. Going into the half, the Lady Hornets would hold a 27-19 lead. After the break, Huntsville would be held to just five points in the next frame making it a seven point game going into the final quarter.
The Lady Panthers would keep Huntsville tamed on the glass as well. The Lady Hornets would haul in 22 rebounds as a team with Gage having five and junior Markia Sweat adding four.
But one key thing for Huntsville was the return from junior A'quarius Howard who had missed some time due to an injury. While she didn't light up the stat sheet, her leadership ws big for the Lady Hornets in this one.
"A'quarius is a big time leader for us," Bennett said. "Since her freshman year she's always had a huge heart and given to us on both sides of the ball. It's not always about scoring with us, it's about what you can bring to the table and how you can make us better. She does that in a great way. She makes us better in her leadership alone."
With Huntsville back on the winning side, they will have another target on their back.
The Lady Hornets will travel to Nacogdoches on Tuesday for their second matchup in district play. The Lady Hornets would take care of business with a 61-31 win, but now they have to do it on the Lady Dragons home court.
"Nac is going to be ready for us," Bennett said. "I'm sure they are going to pack the house and there's going to be some big time plays over there. I'm expecting my girls to lock in on the defensive end and some big things offensively."
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in Nacogdoches.
