And now, the Tem-Cats have a District 12-5A girls basketball victory to show for it.
Maya Williams and Alicia Pickens scored a combined 11 of the 13 points as the Tem-Cats used an early fourth-quarter spurt to keep Bell County rival Belton winless in league play with a 49-45 victory Saturday night at Tiger Gym.
“Man, we needed that win,” first-year Temple coach Tamarah Sanders said.
Coming off a second-place finish at Copperas Cove’s Bush’s Chicken Holiday Classic earlier in the week, the Tem-Cats (12-9 overall, 1-2 12-5A) were able to translate that momentum into a much-needed district win to keep them near the middle of 12-5A’s pack.
Despite shooting 32 percent from the field and 0-for-10 from 3-point range, Belton (10-12, 0-3) never endured the offensive lull that has plagued it so far. Instead, a few defensive spells kept the Lady Tigers in last place.
“Defensively I felt we played better than we had at the (Bush’s Chicken) tournament except for a few stretches there in the third and fourth quarter,” Belton coach Randy Bell said.
With the game tied at 33, Temple’s Shantae Hewins (14 points) hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds to go in the third for a 36-33 lead.
Starting the fourth, Williams (14 points) scored consecutive baskets for a 40-33 lead, while the Lady Tigers missed three shots and committed a turnover.
“They were running a cutter off that high-post screen that hadn’t been there all day,” Bell said. “All of a sudden nobody guards it and we just kind of go in a mental lapse. You have that kind of run in a tight game like this, they’re going to get you.”
Belton’s Aynsley Young ended the drought with two free throws and Meghan Braeuer added two more to pull within 40-37.
Once again Williams scored inside and later freshman Loryn Goodwin found Pickens, who converted a three-point play for a 45-39 lead. Williams capped her eight-point quarter with a fadeaway jumper to give the Tem-Cats a 47-39 lead with four minutes to go.
“Maya is finally going to the basket and has stopped settling for that outside shot,” Sanders said. “That’s the type of player she is capable of being. She has the outside shot and she’s quick for a post player.”
Hailey Rosebrock (14 points) hit two free throws to draw the Lady Tigers within 49-45 with 1:09 left, but Belton committed a turnover and Braeuer missed two 3s, preventing any rally.
In the first half, Temple was hampered with foul trouble, keeping steady ball handler Goodwin on the bench. But the Lady Tigers were unable to take advantage, making just 10 of 21 free throws and 19 of 35 overall.
When Goodwin returned to start the third, the Tem-Cats committed just one turnover and regained the lead to start the fourth.
“I told her she’s no longer a freshman,” Sanders said of Goodwin’s play.
Temple will seek to build on this momentum when it hosts Copperas Cove (15-5, 3-0), which defeated the Tem-Cats 51-36 on Wednesday, at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“We got Cove on Tuesday. We’re going to give you a good one,” Sanders said.
Now in a deep hole, Belton will look to win its first district game at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Harker Heights (4-16, 1-2).
Said Bell: “They’ll show back up on Monday and be ready to keep plugging away."
