Lady Badgers drop district-opener

PHOTOS BY GABE WOLF Above: Sophomore wing Marisa Bogart blocks a Hutto player's shot during Tuesday's district-opening road loss. Right: Lauren Barlow gets a block without even leaving the ground, but the Lady Badgers could not stop Hutto down the stretch, losing 67-58. Sometimes silence speaks volumes.

After Tuesday night's 67-58 district-opening loss at Hutto, Stuart Beckwith was speechless when it came time for a post-game interview.

The head coach simply could not muster the energy to reflect on just how his Lady Badgers allowed another game to slip through their fingers.

But he did not have to say a word; the stats spoke for themselves.

In fact, they were practically screaming at the top of their lungs from the page.

Lampasas allowed the Lady Hippos (14-10, 1-0 district) to go on a 21-13 run to close the game after cutting a double-digit lead to a single point at 45-44. The Lady Badgers connected on just four-of- 17 shots in the fourth quarter and made more turnovers in 32 minutes than some pastry shops do in a day.

Given some time, Beckwith was able to discover the silver lining of the loss, but not without once again feeling the sting of defeat.

"That was as high as it gets plus one," the coach said of his frustration level after the game. "I really felt like we were the better team.

"We still have not learned that each possession is important, and we've got to learn to take care of [the ball]. I was proud of the way the kids shot free throws, and I was real happy about the production we got out of [Sarah] Bishop and [Lauren] Barlow."

The duo combined to score 40 points in the contest, but it was not easy.

Normally solid scorer Barlow was held to just three successful field-goal attempts. She finished with 18 points, while Bishop was six of 15 from the floor for a gamehigh 22 points.

Despite the off-shooting performances, the two juniors were aggressive all evening, earning 23 free-throw attempts between them and connecting on 19.

Barlow also pulled down eight rebounds, edging out Bishop's seven for game-high honors.

After a slow start to the season, Bishop recently has become a go-to scorer for Lampasas, as well as a defensive force.

"Physically she has the tools, and now she's coming around mentally, and I'm proud of her," Beckwith said. "She's starting to use the God-given athletic ability on both ends of the court, and if we can keep her going at that pace then I'll be very pleased."

Early in the fourth quarter, Bishop stole the ball at halfcourt and broke away for a layup to cut the Lady Hippos' lead to two points at 50-48. But Lampasas could get no closer for the remainder of the game, as Bishop scored all but one of the team's field goals in the period.

"We've got to have some other kids step up," Beckwith said.

Outside of Barlow and Bishop, nobody scored more than four points in the loss.

The Lady Badgers (5-15, 0-1 district) look to rebound from the off performance and grab their first district victory of the season tonight when they travel to Hendrickson for a 7 p.m. tip.

"They are going to be very athletic," Beckwith said. "They're going to be a force to be reckoned with, there's no doubt about that."

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In subvarsity action, the freshman squad crushed Hutto 38- 6 in their gym while the junior varsity came up short in their battle with the Lady Hippos, falling 27-12.