Lady ‘Dogs improve play in tournament
On Thursday, Nov. 14, and Saturday, Nov. 16, the Bandera High Lady ‘Dogs travelled to play in a basketball tournament hosted by the Geneva School of Boerne and finished with one win in four tries playing in a pool filled with tough opposition.
The Lady Bulldogs lost both their games on Thursday to San Antonio Christian School and Comfort but fought hard and showed improvement from their prior contest on Nov. 12 against Pleasanton.
Bandera lost 47-39 to San Antonio Christian in the first game, seeing a tight gap between the two teams widen in the second quarter. Bandera played close to their opponent in the second half but failing to eat into the lead.
In the second game on Thursday, the Lady ‘Dogs led a skillful Comfort team by 1 point at halftime, 24-23, widened that lead to 4 points at the end of three quarters but could not hold on in the final quarter, as Comfort won 49-43.
Bandera’s fortunes did not change in the first game Saturday, despite winning the first half of its game against Brentwood Christian 17-16. The Lady ‘Dogs relaxed a little too much in the third quarter, however, and trailed 31-27 going into the fourth quarter.
Bandera narrowed the gap by two points in the last quarter, but it was not enough as it fell to Brentwood 37-35.
But Bandera finished the tournament on a winning note by downing Grace Prep. The Lady ‘Dogs trailed at halftime 19-15 but came out refocused and determined to get the win in the second half.
The Lady ‘Dogs, led by Kristin Salas and Chelsey Graves, took a 25-24 lead at the end of the third quarter and then clamped down on defense in the final quarter to preserve the win.
Grace Prep made no shots from the field in the fourth quarter and hit only one free throw.
Breanna Stimmell scored 6 points, Salas 5 points and Madison Leal 2 points in the final quarter to seal the victory.
Stimmell was named to the All-Tournament Team for her performance over the two days, as Bandera fell to 2-4 for the year.
Last week started for the Lady ‘Dogs with 56-45 loss to a very tough Pleasanton Lady Eagles team.
A big second quarter by Pleasanton erased a 1-point Bandera lead at the end of the first quarter and set the stage for the final victory.
Bandera outscored the Lady Eagles by 6 points in the second half, but it was not enough for the win.
The leading scorers for the Lady ‘Dogs over the five games were Stimmell with 66 points, Salas with 41 points and Graves with 27 points.
Kierstyn Dumont is Bandera High School’s Girls’ Varsity Basketball coach.