Lady Apaches fall in tight game to Hawks

GONZALES — The Lady Apaches lost another close game, falling to the Canyon Lake Lady Hawks 38-30.

The game drops Gonzales to 2-7, making it their fifth straight loss.

Both teams matched point for point, with Gonzales and Canyon Lake trading leads three times in the first quarter as the Lady Hawks used their press defense to try to rattle the home team. Up 8-6, the Lady Apaches gave up six straight points to get down 12-8 by the end of the quarter.

Canyon Lake would continue to increase their lead, going on an 8-3 run before head coach Valerie Akpan opted for a timeout. Soon after, Sheridan Tate scored a basket and later dished one to Kendra Williams who nailed a three pointer to cut the lead to 20-16 at the end of the half.

The start of the third had more scoring with Skylea Tatsch finding Tate for a three pointer. Down in the post Mary Hastings added two more while Amanda Dixson was sent to the free-throw line on a foul, making both of her shots to go up 23-20.

Canyon Lake tied the game with a three then later retook the lead on a made free-throw shot before Gonzales’ Ericka Hernandez scored a bucket of her own to give the Lady Apaches a 25-24 lead. The visitors ended the quarter on a quick 5-0 run to take a 29-25 lead.

The scoring slowed down for the Lady Apaches in the final quarter of play as Canyon Lake limited Gonzales to just five points while scoring nine themselves. Even after the Lady Apaches pressed, the Lady Hawks managed to get through and draw fouls, getting to the free-throw line six times in the last two minutes of play. Canyon Lake pulled away, scoring 6-of-11 to finish the game on a 6-0 run, winning 38-30.

Dixson led the team in scoring with eight points while Mary Hastings, Khelsea Cray and Sheridan Tate had five points. Williams had three points, Alex James had two and Hernandez had two.

The Lady Apaches travel to Yoakum tonight to take on the Lady Bulldogs, with tipoff scheduled at 6:30 p.m.