El Dorado’s varsity girls surged in the fourth quarter and pulled away to a 60-54 win over Texarkana Tuesday night at Wildcat Arena.
The Lady Wildcats improved to 6-11 overall and 2-1 in conference while the Lady Razorbacks dropped to 6-9, 1-3.
In a game of runs, El Dorado used an 8-2 spurt in the final period to create an 8-point cushion.
“It wasn’t a very clean win. But a win is a win. That’s what we wanted,” said El Dorado coach Jae Kell.
“We still have things to work on. There are moments and spots where you can see that what we’re working on is working. We’re correcting things but we’ve still got a lot of stuff to work on.”
LaDiamond Maker and Lauren Nelson combined for 15 points and 16 rebounds in the post.
“We really stressed rebounds. I think our post players did a great job,” said Kell.
“We knew we could compete down low and battle and that’s what we tried to do. We tried to get some ball movement to get them open.
“Towards the end of the game, that’s really what made us pull away is having that ball pressure down low and that presence.
“Texarkana’s post players are pretty good. They’re scrappy. They’re going to win games by just being scrappy. We tried to come in here with the thought that every loose ball, somebody was going on the floor for Texarkana. We had to have the same intensity, same drive to go get it.”
Amyiah Williams led a balanced offensive attack with 12 points. Kalese Moseby scored 10 while ZB Brown and Maker each scored nine.
Maker pulled down 10 rebounds.
El Dorado led 13-9 after one quarter after Moseby drained a 3-pointer.
The Lady Wildcats carried a 31-28 advantage into the intermission and pushed the margin to 43-36 with 5:33 left in the fourth.
The Lady Razorbacks fought back and sliced the deficit to 43-41 on Allyssa Young’s basket with 4:03 remaining.
The Lady Wildcats stopped the 5-0 spurt when Williams converted a three-point play. Brown followed with a jumper as El Dorado went on its 8-2 spurt. Maker’s rebound and putback gave the Lady Cats a 51-43 lead with 2:55 left to play.
Down the stretch, Williams and Brown ran the team from the backcourt. Williams’ three-point play might’ve been the biggest bucket of the game.
“That was a big turnaround. That’s really what solidified the win. That’s just a hustle play. It wasn’t a really good pass, but she never gave up on it. That’s what caused her to get that three-point play,” said Kell.
“Z Brown is a junior. She hasn’t been put in that spot very often, but she did a really good job. She composed herself.
“She stayed out of our danger zones, which were the corners. That’s what we were asking for. She drove when she had a driving opportunity. We told them we were only looking for wide open lay-ups and that’s what she got.”
Fortunate Barry led Texarkana with 16 points while Z’niah Nelson scored 13.
For El Dorado, the victory was important for conference standings. But it was also a gritty, team effort, which could be a positive sign for the rest of the season.
“We had five kids get close to double-digits. That’s a good night when you’re getting production from multiple people,” said Kell. “It doesn’t have to be pretty, but it goes in the win column.”