It was - for Ranger.
Alex Pinney scored a game-high 20 points and Temple rolled to an easy 84-48 win at TC Gym in Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference basketball action.
“We came out pretty flat and a little sluggish,” Temple coach Kim Sebek said. “But we picked it up a little bit in the second half, and were able to get some good playing time for everyone.”
It was a slow start for both teams as Ranger held a 5-2 lead four and half minutes into the game. But Pinney hit a three, and then seconds later hit two free throws after drawing a foul to give TC a 7-5 lead. Then the rout was on.
Moments after Pinney’s free throws, Temple (8-8 overall, 2-1 NTJCAC) went on a 13-0 run and took a 34-20 lead into the half.
Ranger came out in the second half matching TC basket for basket early, but another 13-0 run led by inside baskets by Marisa Rauss and Mareta Bailey and capped with a 3-pointer by Andrea Johnson gave TC a 53-25 lead, all but guaranteeing the win.
It was another rout for the Lady Leopards in a series in which they haven’t lost a game in this century. The series has featured many lopsided wins including a 98-33 win in 2004, a 77-39 win in 2006 and a 78-41 last season.
With Ranger (6-8, 0-3) not known to give TC a tough test and TC beginning a stretch where it plays five games in 10 days, it would have been easy for the Lady Leopards to overlook the Lady Rangers.
But they didn’t.
“It’s going to be a tough stretch and a big test coming up,” Pinney said. “But we knew coming in that we can’t underestimate any team because on any given day they can beat you on the court.”
Unable to beat Temple on the scoreboard, the Lady Rangers instead began to beat down the Lady Leopards on the court. Intimidated and frustrated, the Lady Rangers got extremely physical and drew a total of 25 fouls, mostly on Pinney, who was 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
“They were trying to get in our head,” she said. “We bumped them around a little bit, they’d push us and get frustrated.”
The physical play was a good test for Pinney, who missed much of last season with a severe leg injury. She wears a bandage on her right shoulder, having injured it last season and missed last Saturday’s game against Hill with a knee injury.
“I started to think about it at the beginning of the season - the injuries I’ve had,” she said. “But I realized if I do that, I’ll play scared and won’t be able to do half the things I do. Once I get in the game and am involved, I don’t worry about (getting injured) I just go 100 percent.”
Added Sebek: “If you know anything about Alex, when she steps on the court you know she’s going to give 100 percent. She goes all out. She took the ball to the hole and got hammered a couple of times tonight. It was good to see her shoot well from the free-throw line, and come out injury free.”
Temple’s Bailey finished the game with 12 points and Rauss added 11.
The Lady Leopards will be at Cisco on Saturday, then play at McLennan on Monday before returning home for a contest against Southwest Christian on Wednesday.
“I pretty much preach to them it’s one game at a time and we have to focus on what’s at hand,” Sebek said. “But we did do a little bit of talking about what’s ahead of us. We have a busy week."
mhood@temple-telegram.com
