But the Belton Lady Tigers had enough stamina to hold off a Leander team that refused to go away, hanging on to a 58-51 victory Tuesday night at Tiger Gym.
Despite not shooting particularly well from the field, the Lady Tigers (4-2) are managing to post sizable point tallies.
“That’s just a result of our pressure defense,” Belton coach Randy Bell said. “I don’t know how much we got out of that tonight because we gave a lot of it back.”
Aynsley Young pumped in a game-high 15 for the Lady Tigers to go with 12 from Brystal Holcombe.
Belton had a 53-43 advantage in the fourth, with buckets from Meghan Braeuer, Holcombe and free throws from Tiffany Dickerson.
But the Lady Lions eased back to within four with the aid of a trey from Ellen Giddens and a jumper from the corner by Sierra Nevels.
They wouldn’t get any closer, however, coming up empty on successive possessions while the Lady Tigers picked up needed free throws down the stretch from Kimesha Scott, Young and Hailey Rosebrock.
“At times we’d look like we could get a good (point) separation,” Bell said, “but then we’d have a breakdown in (defensive) rotation and let them back into it.”
The Lady Tigers made just two field goals in the first quarter and trailed 14-12 at the end of the first eight minutes. Young and Rosebrock combined for 11 points in a 19-point second quarter as the Lady Tigers moved ahead 31-29 at halftime.
Amber Peters hit a pair of key baskets in the low post and Young hit her team’s only 3-pointers to spark a 16-point third quarter and give the Lady Tigers a nine-point lead going into the fourth. Peters finished with 10 points.
“(Peters) hit those two baskets over their 6-2 kid,” Bell said. “Those were big buckets that helped stretch us out a little bit. We had some other mismatches that we could’ve taken advantage of, but didn’t. Those are things we can go back and correct.”
Dickerson and Scott hassled Lady Lion guards in the backcourt, forcing steals and making it difficult for Leander to get into its offensive rhythm. Nevels led Leander with 13 points and Casey McCauley added 10.
After a disappointing loss to Pflugerville Connally in their final game of the Dr Pepper Chisholm Trail Classic on Saturday, a productive victory was just what the doctor ordered for the Lady Tigers.
“Overall you’re always happy with a win,” Bell said. “You can always look for something to improve on."
twaits@temple-telegram.com
