Now 4-0 in district play and top dog in the district, the Levelland Loboettes held off their rival, the Estacado Lady Matadors, 53-44, in Lubbock Tuesday.
The Loboettes went to work quickly and established a 15-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Loboette Emery Smith would find early success from beyond the arch with two three-pointers to help her squad.
Allowing only four points from Estacado, Levelland would hit the locker rooms with a 26-12 lead.
Loboette Head Coach Clay Barnett was pleased with his team’s play in the first half.
“The worst thing we could have done is started the game by going out there and try to feel them out,” said Coach Barnett. “There has been one or two times where we are kind of shocked or at stand still against a tough team, but the girls came out of the gate competitive from the start.”
Holding the Lady Matadors to four points in the second quarter, the defensive side of the ball has been the anchor for the Loboettes.
Estacado tried to turn the momentum in their favor in the second half with 16 points in the third and fourth quarters.
Finishing the game, Smith had 16 while Lelani Sanchez hit for 14 and Laci White added 11 points.
The Loboettes improve to 24-3 on the year.
“I was pleased with the way they played,” said Coach Barnett. “You would like to finish the game a little cleaner but it definitely wasn’t lack of effort. I didn’t ever feel like our kids stopped playing hard.”
Moving forward, Coach Barnett see’s the win as a benefit for his team as they know they can go into a tough environment and have a quality performance.
“I think they’re starting to handle the big moments better. They’re able to kind of lock in instead of you know kind of get that big eyed,” explained Coach Barnett. I think they’re getting more confident.”