Port Aransas High School Lady Marlin JV players Jessica Borden, left, and Meagan Hardegree stretch for the ball during a game against Robstown on Dec. 14. STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER The Lady Marlins traveled to Yorktown and handled the Yorktown Kitty Kats nicely on Tuesday, Dec. 14. They won, 39-18.

Coach Stephanie Cowen credited the varsity defense for much of the win against Yorktown.

“We came out and played very hard on the defensive end, and I think that set the tone for the ballgame,” she said. “We have spent a lot of time recently talking about defensive effort, and I think it showed. Some early defensive stops and scores in transition gave us the quick lead.”

In fact, the Lady Marlins grabbed a 7-2 lead in a low-scoring first quarter, but moved to a 19-4 lead at the halftime break.

They outscored the Kitty Kats 13-6 in the third quarter and gave up one net point, 7-8, in the last period.

Savannah Ortiz led the scoring with 10, followed by Chelsea Perez with nine. Perez also got credit for leading the defense: “Perez did an outstanding job defending one of their top scorers,” Cowen said.

Kelsey Ortriz followed with six points, Savanna Nixon and Kalani Balcom had five each and Tarryn Murray put in four.

The win brings the varsity to a 10-6 record on the season.