STAFF PHOTO BY STEPHANIE KENIGSBERG Sure shot Lady Marlin Abby Kenigsberg goes up for two against Nueces Canyon. The Lady Marlins squeezed past D’Hanis, 23-21, in Karnes City on Friday, Feb. 19, to seal the area girls’ basketball title and move on to regional quarterfinal competition.

But coach Stephanie Cowen said, “We never seemed to get into any rhythm or flow in the game.”

Cowen called the game “very physical.”

“We seemed to be trying to play too fast,” she said. “We were trying to make a play, but didn’t focus on fundamentals like catching the ball first, so we ended up fumbling the catch.”

Tarryn Murray was the Lady Marlins’ leading scorer with 8, followed by Emily Scott with 6. Katelin Dupnik and Reba Armanovs each put in 4 and Kalani Balcom hit 1 free throw.

“Tarryn (Murray) came up with some big scores late in the fourth quarter, and Rachael Phillips had two big defensive plays to help seal the win,” Cowen reported.

“It is always good for us to experience close games, but we need to do a better job of executing earlier in the game, so we don’t have to be in those close games,” she said.

Boasting a 27-4 overall record, the Lady Mustangs went into their first regional quarterfinal game against 1A Division I fourth-ranked Nueces Canyon on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. in Poteet (see related story).