BASKETBALL: Lady Apaches jump out early, beat Charlotte at home

The Gonzales Lady Apaches jumped out to a 15-4 early lead and then held on to defeat the Charlotte Lady Trojans at home, 56-53, Tuesday, Dec. 14.

Gonzales (6-11) relied on transition offense and three-point shooting by Bella Aguero and Delaini Seger-Gordon to build up an advantage they never surrendered after halfway through the first quarter. Between them, Aguero and Seger-Gordon were 5-of-10 from the three-point arc, compared to 0-for-11 for the rest of the team.

After going up by 11 in the first period, the Lady Apaches outscored Charlotte, 20-16, in the second period to take a 35-20 halftime lead. At one point Gonzales was up by 19 points in the game before a Lady Trojan run trimmed the margin down to 15.

In the second half, Charlotte employed its own full-court press that forced a number of Gonzales turnovers, helping the Lady Trojans chop into the lead. A 14-9 third period made it 44-34 in favor of the Lady Apaches with one period to play.

The fourth quarter saw Charlotte outscore Gonzales, 19-12. Charlotte was able to creep to within two points at 55-53 with a minute left to play in the game, but failed to foul the Lady Apaches’ Madison York until just a little over three seconds left. York hit one of two free throws to make it 56-53 and the Lady Trojans could not move the ball back down the court in time to get a decent shot as the final buzzer sounded.

Aguero led Gonzales with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 3-of-6 on treys, and added five rebounds and five steals. Seger-Gordon had 11 points (2-of-4 from three-point) and seven rebounds. York scored six points and had 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals. Audrey Martinez scored six points with five rebounds, four assists and six steals. Kelly Breitschopf had six points, five rebounds and three assists and Sydney McCray had six points and three rebounds.

Kilee Schwausch, Niyahna Lowery and Macy Sample each scored two points for the Lady Apaches. Schwausch also had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals while Sample also had three rebounds.

Gonzales’ games on Friday, Dec. 17, and Monday, Dec. 20 were canceled. They will play Tuesday, Dec. 21, at Alice.