Tuesday, November 25, 1997

Lady Bulldogs beat Wall, 51-34

By TED DUNNAM

Assistant Sports Editor

Wylie relied on the Wright stuff and it paved the way to a 51-34 victory over Wall Monday night at the Wylie gym.

Guard Amanda Wright scored all nine of her points in the decisive third quarter in which head coach Randy Courtney's team outscored Wall, 20-9.

The third quarter proved so pivotal that even when Wylie went five consecutive minutes in the fourth quarter without scoring, Wall wasn't able to mount any kind of a threat to the Lady Bulldog lead.

"Amanda's shooting the ball real well," Courtney said, "and she definitely gave us a little spark. All of the girls contributed in one way or another. I think our constant pressure kind of frustrated them and we were able to get some baskets off of the press."

Wylie led only 25-17 at halftime before taking control of the contest.

After Wall closed the gap to 25-19 to start the third period, the Lady Bulldogs then went on to score 14 of the next 16 points.

Meredith Ripley and Wright each scored the first two baskets for a 29-19 Wylie lead before Wall's Lindsay Holik pulled the Lady Hawks to 29-21.

The Lady Bulldogs then went on a 10-0 that began with a 3-pointers by Mallory Cross and Wright for a 35-21 lead at the 5:13 mark. Kendra DeBerry then scored inside and Wright hit another hoop at 3:18 of the period for a 39-21 lead.

Wall finally scored before Natalie Hatchett and Wright made consecutive baskets to stake Wylie to a 43-23 lead with 2:23 left in the period.

The Lady Bulldogs eventually settled for a 45-26 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

Wylie scored only one basket in the fourth quarter and that came with just 21 seconds left in the game. It didn't matter, though, because Wylie's defensive pressure kept Wall from attacking the basket.

"I've been real happy with the press so far," Courtney said. "I thought we lacked a little in offensive execution tonight, but the girls continued to hustle. In the tournament this weekened, I thought we played harder than anyone and that carried over tonight.

"Hannah Jones took the ball strong to the hoop tonight. That was probably the best game I've seen her play."

Ripley was the only scored in double digits for Wylie, finishing with 11 points, but seven Lady Bulldogs contributed to the team's scoring.

Girls

WALL (34) - Brandy Wagner 1 0-2 2, Lindsay Holik 5 6-11 16, Kristy Braden 1 0-1 2, Shanda West 2 1-2 6, Jill Miller 1 0-0 2, Laura Sefcik 1 0-0 2, Trisha Hoelsher 0 0-4 0, Phyllis Gee 1 0-0 2, Jenny Begnaud 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 7-20 34.

WYLIE (51) - Leah Wilson 0 0-2 0, Meredith Ripley 3 4-7 11, Bliss Williams 3 0-0 6, Natalie Hatchett 2 1-2 5, Hannah Jones 1 6-10 8, Mallory Cross 2 0-0 5, Kendra DeBerry 3 1-1 7, Amanda Wright 4 0-0 9. Totals 18 12-22 51.

3-point goals - Wall 1 (West), Wylie 3 (Ripley 1, Cross 1, Wright 1). Fouls - Wall 18, Wylie 18. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Records - Wylie 3-2.