By GREG WEBB
Nearly five minutes into the District 3-5A contest between Weatherford’s varsity girls and their Arlington High counterparts, neither team found the scoring easy. The chilly air outside pervaded the inside of Roo gymnasium, as both teams were plagued with a bit of cold shooting.
But the second quarter saw the Lady Roos’ aim improve and the offense heat up considerably, as Weatherford pulled away from the Lady Colts to record a 60-27 win.
While the Lady Roos were trying to find their range early on, senior guard Remi Reynolds’ defense kept Arlington at bay by denying them shots with steals and deflections. The WHS girls fed on Reynolds’ spark and the defensive energy continued to harass their opponents through the rest of the game.
Junior Abbye Shearmire hit her first 3-pointer in the second quarter, adding three more after the half as the Lady Roos productivity increased with each period. The perimeter-shooting guard finished with 18 points to lead the scoring for Weatherford, including six for six from the free-throw line, and head coach Darryn Shearmire emptied his bench as WHS‘ margin kept increasing.
“Our defense was very active the whole night,” said Coach Shearmire,”and that’s the kind of effort we will have to repeat as we go through the district schedule.”
Weatherford’s Faith Woodring cashed in with 11 points with a combination of fast break points and a few jumpers. Aidan Pool, inserted in the second half, took over the boards at both ends of the court and ended the night with eight points, mostly on put backs.
The middle quarters saw the Lady Roos outscore Arlington 33-10 after an 8-7 count after the opening period. The Lady Colts main threat came from post Georgia Beatty, but Weatherford held its top scorer to just nine points.
Improving to 3-2 in district play with the win over Arlington, the Lady Roos stay at home for their next meeting, hosting Paschal with a 6 p.m. start on Tuesday. There will be extra fans at Roo gymnasium, as the WISD will recognize its younger cagers on Middle School Night.
In contrast to the ladies’ game, the Roos match with the Arlington Colts saw most of its points scored in the first half. WHS guards Collin Boswell and Lawson Priess found the hoop from long range in the opening quarter, but the Weatherford perimeter scoring was not consistent enough to keep pace with the Colts.
The Arlington post player drew attention, and four 2-shot fouls, hitting seven, and adding two more baskets to provided the lion’s share of scoring as the Colts took a 7-point edge into the quarter.
Arlington had no shortage of been players, nor shooters, and kept the pressure on Weatherford, who lost the District 3-5A contest, 63-42.
Down by 17 coming out of the locker room in the second half, the Weatherford defense came out strong and busy, trying to neutralize the Colts scoring that had maintained momentum through the first half. The Roo defenders had a degree of success, cutting Arlington’s first-quarter production in half by allowing just 10 points, but could not make up any lost ground.
In an effort to keep fresh legs on the court as much as possible, Weatherford head coach Terry Ferguson platooned his 10 players, with measured success defensively, but the Roos could not find a hot hand to close the deficit.
Tony Rodriguez had his burst of offensive production in the second quarter, scoring seven of his 10 points on the night. Boswell finished with eight, and Connor Turan had a couple of threes in the second half for six points.
In trying to boost the offensive production and draw some free trips to the line, Weatherford’s guards forced themselves into the lane, but not with the amount of success needed to close the gap against Arlington’s seeming never-ending supply of shooters.
Looking for its first district win to break the ice, The Roos will welcome the Paschal Panthers to Roos gymnasium on Tuesday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m., or soon after the Lady Roos game ends.
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