Published: November 19, 2008 01:52 am      

Lady Tigers fall to Waco Connally, 60-37

WACO — The good will the Lady Tigers had built up with coach Laura Walker-Holmes through six games was wasted away in 32 listless minutes Tuesday night against 3A Waco Connally.

The Lady Tigers lost 60-37 to Connally, a game in which the visitors trailed by double digits the entire second half.

The Lady Tigers (5-2) didn’t seem to have their legs, maybe because it was their sixth game in six days, or maybe because they just weren’t motivated. They didn’t make the hustle plays, they didn’t rebound and they didn’t take care of the basketball.

“That’s the worst game we’ve played in the last two years,” Walker-Holmes said.

Walker-Holmes was disappointed that her team didn’t chase down loose balls in the corner or block out for rebounds. The latter was a concern of Walker-Holmes coming into the season, but the coach had been pleased with how the Lady Tigers had rebounded during the first week of the season.

It’s possible the Lady Tigers just didn’t have their normal energy Tuesday night, but Walker-Holmes wasn’t buying it. Leading scorer Capricia Jones was held to 11 points and Amber Ames and Amari Dowell were held to eight points combined.

“I just don’t think we played hard,” Walker-Holmes said. “It could have been that some of them where tired. Capricia’s shots were all short. But I’m not letting them off the hook.”

The Lady Tigers never found their rhythm in the first half and also didn’t play with the energy needed on the road.

They left 3-point shooters open and Connally’s Regina Snell responded by hitting 3 of her 6 attempts from behind the arc.

The Lady Tigers did make a brief run at the end of the first half as Jones hit a 3-pointer and Shovanda Thomas had a layup, but Connally’s Amara Washington closed out the half with two layups for a 31-18 advantage at the break.

“We came hot,” Connally coach Rebecca Hunt said.

The Lady Tigers were outscored 8-2 to start the second half and never got closer than 16 points the rest of the night.

They let Connally post Brittany Thompson score nine points in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Walker-Holmes said.



Waco Connally 60, Corsicana 37

Corsicana: Capricia Jones 11, Amari Dowell 6, Jessica White 5, Yolanda Tolliver 4, Shavonda Thomas 4, Amber Ames 2, Jackie Saipongi 2, Destiny Henry 2, Nodia Washington 1.

Waco Connally: A. Washington 19, B. Washington 11, Thompson 10, Snell 9, Moss 4, Dunbar 4, Walker 2, Loredlo 1.

Records: Connally (2-1); Corsicana (5-2).