Despite taking some hard shots, senior post Lauren Barlow scored 15 points in a loss to Mexia. The Lady Badgers were down, but they were not out.

After snapping a lengthy losing streak by beating Marlin before the holiday and winning their opening game at the Gatesville tournament against Comanche, it appeared Lampasas was on an emotional ascent.

Then the bottom dropped out.

In their second pool play game in Gatesville, the Lady Badgers allowed Mexia to put together a game-winning 17-6 run in the fourth quarter to erase a sevenpoint Lampasas lead and win the contest 47-43.

The loss sent the team to the Silver Bracket and appeared to knock the wind out their sails.

But against area rival Burnet, the Lady Badgers played one of their best games of the year. They followed it up by defeating Waco Connally to win the Silver Bracket championship and, hopefully, set their season back on track in the process.

PHOTOS BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Kayla Prescott releases a shot against the Lady Cats. The junior finished with 14 points in the game and helped guide her team to the Silver Bracket championship. “I hope this shows the kids that we’re a good basketball team,” head coach Stuart Beckwith said. “When it says Lampasas across our chests, that’s going to start meaning that we can play basketball, and the kids are starting to buy into that.

“They’re starting to believe in themselves. They’re starting to have fun playing, and they’re starting to support each other on the floor.”

At no time was that more evident than against the Lady Bulldogs in the opening round of bracket play Wednesday morning.

Nine Lampasas players scored in the 44-39 win and despite a fourthquarter shooting slump, the team’s defensive effort was solid and held off Burnet’s final efforts to come back after trailing for virtually the entire game.

Jennifer Herron, right, plays defense against a driving Mexia guard. After using a 10-3 run to claim their first lead of the game at 12-9, the Lady Bulldogs were immediately put back in check by Lampasas as it constructed an eight-point lead at 24-16.

The Lady Bulldogs chewed the advantage down to a nub, tying the game at 26-26, but Lampasas ended the third quarter with a flurry as senior Makayla Valles scored five consecutive points to increase the Lady Badgers’ cushion.

It took Lampasas until 3:50 remained in the quarter to score its first field goal of the period, but Valles made up for lost time by driving the basket and scoring a layup to break the tie and then draining a 3-pointer off a crosscourt pass delivered by Sarah Bishop.

The Lady Badgers needed all the points they could get because they went cold from the field in the fourth quarter, hitting just one of three attempts.

Luckily, Lampasas converted 11 free throws and won the game.

The lone field goal came with just over two minutes remaining in the game when Kayla Prescott stole the ball and took it down the court for a fastbreak layup.

Prescott finished with eight points in the game on three-of-five shooting, tying Madison Morris for team-high scoring honors.

“From the first second to the last second, that’s as good as we can play,” Beckwith said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well, but we never gave up. We made mistakes, but they played hard for 32 minutes.”

The win advanced Lampasas to the championship round where Waco Connally awaited them.

The Lady Cadets jumped out to a 10-5 lead as Lampasas struggled offensively (2-15 FG) in the first quarter, but the Lady Badgers roared back, taking control with an 11-1 run.

The lead would grow to 10 points, 29-19, before Connally had enough. The Lady Cadets trailed by just two points, 32-30, heading into the fourth quarter after ReAnn Snell hit a pair of 3-pointers and Chardae Dunbar posted an old fashioned three-point play in the final 2:30 of the third period.

It would take nearly a full quarter for Connally to score another field goal, however.

The Lady Badgers did not allow the opposition to score from the floor until Dunbar’s layup narrowed the gap to 10 points, 44- 34, with 2:15 remaining on the clock.

It was not enough and Lampasas (8-12) secured the bracket championship with a 45-39 victory.

“I told my players that after the dejection of [losing to Mexia the previous afternoon], I said ‘The way you come back today is going to show me what the rest of the year is going to be like,’ ” Beckwith said. “They showed me what we can expect for the rest of the year, and that’s exciting.”

Prescott was named to the alltournament team based on her solid play at the guard position. She scored 38 points in four games with her best offensive performance coming in the Mexia loss where she tallied 14 points.

While Prescott was given the gold star, Beckwith finds it hard to single out one player.

“I’m proud of Prescott for getting it, but I think we had several kids play well,” the coach said. “The entire team showed unity and showed that we want to change Lampasas basketball. They got a great start on it.”

In the win over Comanche, Morris scored 11 to complement Lauren Barlow’s team-high 14 points as Lampasas won 48-43 in a revenge match against the Maidens. Earlier in the year, the Lady Badgers traveled to Comanche and lost by two points.

Several hours later, Lampasas faced off against Mexia and despite getting a combined 39 points out of Prescott and Barlow (15 pts.), the Lady Badgers blew a comfortable lead and lost a heartbreaker before completely changing the mood and momentum of the team the next day.

“We’re getting proper support from the bench for the kids on the court, and the kids on the court are showing respect for the kids on the bench,” Beckwith said. “Whoever steps on the court is going to play hard, and you can’t ask for any more than that.

“We’re going to make mistakes, and we can live with that, but playing hard is what we’ve got to have and we got it.”

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For a complete recap of Thursday’s game against Llano played at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, please see Tuesday’s edition.

Lady Badgers @ Gatesville tournament

Pool D

Game 1

Lampasas 48, Comanche 43 Leading Scorer:

Lauren Barlow 14 Leding Rebounder: Barlow 6

Game 2

Lampasas 43, Mexia 47 Leading Scorer: Barlow 15 Leading Rebounder: Barlow 9

Bracket Play

Silver Bracket

Semifinals

Lampasas 44, Burnet 39 Leading Scorers: Kayla Prescott,

Madison Morris 8 Leading Rebounders: Barlow,

Hailey Morrison 5

Championship

Lampasas 45,

Waco Connally 39 Leading Scorer: Barlow 14 Leading Rebounder: Morrison 7