vs. Pasadena Memorial

Last Thursday the Varsity Girls Basketball Team traveled south to compete in the Pasadena Varsity Tournament at Pasadena Memorial. Their initial opponent was Fort Bend Clements and the Spartans made short work of them, 53-31. Stephenson led the team in scoring and rebounding with 18 and seven, respectively. Hallmark dropped in eight. Davis had six points and six rebounds. Ashby had a game-high five steals. Most everyone scored.

vs. Randle

On Friday the Spartans returned to Pasadena take on a tougher opponent in Randle High School (Richmond, TX). It went down to the wire only to see the Spartans fall by just two points, 44-42. Ashby scored 13 points and had seven steals. Stephenson tallied 12 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Adisa scored nine. Davis had six points and seven rebounds.

vs. Friendswood

Saturday the Spartans returned to Pasadena a third time, which is considered punishment in some households, to dispatch Friendswood High School, 52-35. Adisa came up big with 16 points. Davis contributed 10 points plus five rebounds. Stephenson scored nine in addition to seven steals. Junior guard Aria Taylor returned to action with seven points and four assists.

The Spartans are now 7-7 on the season and return to action on Tuesday, December 5th at Cy Fair to kick off conference play.

The Spartan Girls Varsity Basketball Team came into last week having lost two games the week before. One of those was by eight points to Cy Falls. The other by five to Benjamin Davis. As of 11/29, the latter sports a 6-1 record and has been winning by a margin of 19 points in its other victories. The former is 4-3 and has lost to teams with a combined 27-7 record. The point is, the Spartans' 4-6 record may not be telling the whole story. This is a young team early in the season.

vs. DeKaney

On Tuesday, November 28th the DeKaney Wildcats were the visitors. Junior point guard Rachel Ashby came out firing with a long-distance pass to versatile Freshman Tess Stephenson for a layup. Stephenson followed with a great fake on the defender and dribbled to the left for a pull-up eight-footer. On the following series from the right corner, Stephenson found Ashby sneaking into the lane for the assist. Senior forward Kendall Zoboroski had a layup off the assist from Ashby. Junior guard Ella O'Connor saw Stephenson darting into the lane for the pass-and-score, and it was 10-0. Ashby found herself looking for an open teammate and when none broke free, she launched from the top of the key for a trey. Ashby rifled a half-court pass to Junior guard Meghan Hallmark, who streaked into the open and scored off another layup. Junior forward Bella Perroni took a sweet cross-court pass from Stephenson and nailed a 10-footer near the buzzer to end the first quarter up 17-1.

This team is laden with talent in the Junior class. Scientists cannot be certain what was in the water in this area around the 2009-10 era, but something in it turned girls into really good basketball players. At any given time there could be three to four juniors on the floor.

So, the Seniors said "watch this" in the second quarter. Senior forward Ella Pezzia started a fast-break and hit Hallmark for a layup. Senior guard Emma Adisa got a steal and turned it into a score. Zoboroski (Senior) dribbled around two defenders to attack the basket and score. Junior forward Kendall Davis corralled an offensive rebound and got the put-back for two to make it 29-7. Adisa had another steal and score. Zoboroski again put the ball on the floor, converted a middle-of-the-lane layup, and it was 33-9 at the half.

Ashby kicked off the scoring in the third quarter. She was slowly dribbling, like on a Sunday stroll, sizing up the defense, and when they stood flat-footed, she made them pay with a nothing-but-net three. Stephenson hit Adisa for an eight-footer. Ashby attempted another long pass that was intercepted, and it was so uncharacteristic, the PA Announcer inexplicably dropped his mic. That devolved into some sloppy passing and missing easy shots. It was a Freshman who righted the ship. Ashby lobbed a pass into the lane to Stephenson, who drove and converted a lovely lefty. Stephenson followed by driving hard from the top of the key down the right side for a layup. She hit a three-pointer from the left corner. On the defensive end, as a Wildcat attempted to drive past her, Stephenson took the ball out of the defender's hands like a pick-pocket pro in a New York City alley and drove the court for a score. It was a Stephenson-onslaught and the quarter soon ended, 50-15.

Davis had another offensive rebound and scored. Stephenson went coast-to-coast for a layup. Ashby juked and jived into the lane to score. Ashby to Davis lit up the scoreboard twice in the fourth. Hallmark found Pezzia for a bucket. Hallmark scored off the offensive rebound. Perroni got the ball on a fast-break and was launching herself toward the rim when someone, who may or may not be an influential booster, yelled "dunk it." Had the game been closer, or had she actually done it, or even tried, it might have brought the house down. As it was, Perroni was fouled and went to the charity stripe. Zoboroski rebounded the second free throw attempt to deliver a basket and that made the final 69-15.

Stephenson led with 19 points plus eight rebounds and four steals. Adisa had 12 points and four steals. Ashby had 10 points, six assists, and six steals. Davis scored nine and nabbed six rebounds. Zoboroski finished with eight points.