Lady Marlins just miss top spot





Keep-away Devan Murray, playing for the Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins, keeps the ball away from a Taft defender during a home game on Friday, Dec. 3.

Keep-away Devan Murray, playing for the Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins, keeps the ball away from a Taft defender during a home game on Friday, Dec. 3.

Going against opponents that included a couple of 3A teams, the Lady Marlins emerged from the Dec. 9-11 Best of the Bay Tournament in second place. The hostess Aransas Pass Lady Panthers claimed top honors in the tournament.

Port Aransas faced the Taft Lady Greyhounds on Thursday, Dec. 9, in their first game of the tournament, just six days after routing them, 35-20, in Port Aransas. They handled the Lady Greyhounds roughly at the tournament, also, giving them a 27-21 defeat.

Comin’ through! Savannah Nixon, of the Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins, gets past an Odem High School defender during a tournament at Aransas Pass.

Comin’ through! Savannah Nixon, of the Port Aransas High School Lady Marlins, gets past an Odem High School defender during a tournament at Aransas Pass.

The Lady Marlins took control early, cruising to a 10-1 first quarter, but let that control slip during the second quarter as the Lady Greyhounds bounced back to trail 12-11 at

the half.

“After letting Taft get back into the game in the second quarter, we had one of our best third quarters of the year, and opened up the lead for good,” coach Stephanie Cowen commented.

Discussing strategy The Port Aransas Lady Marlins talk game strategy with Coach Stephanie Cowen during a tournament at Aransas Pass High School.

Discussing strategy The Port Aransas Lady Marlins talk game strategy with Coach Stephanie Cowen during a tournament at Aransas Pass High School.

Indeed, the Port Aransas girls outscored Taft 11-4 in the third quarter.

Chelsea Perez took scoring honors for the Lady Marlins with nine points, followed by Tarryn Murray with seven. Kalani Balcom and Anna Roberson each scored four, and Savannah Ortiz hit three.

Scoring by Quarters        
  1 2 3 4 F  
PA 9 3 11 4 27  
THS 1 10 4 6 21  

On a roll, the Lady Marlins faced Incarnate Word Academy later on Thursday, taking control in the first half and never relinquishing it for the course of the game.

While the Lady Angels managed a 6-5 lead in the first quarter, the Lady Marlins turned in 13 points during the second quarter to hold a 18-8 lead at the half.

“We started the game against IWA a little flat,” Cowen said. “We were down 0-5 going into the last minute of the quarter when Chelsea Perez hit a big three to give us some confidence. We took off from there. (It was a) great defensive effort, and our transition offense led to the big win.”

Murray and Savanna Nixon scored in double figures, Murray with 15 and Nixon with 10. Perez and Roberson hit six apiece, and Savanna Ortiz put in four to round out the scoring.

Scoring by Quarters        
  1 2 3 4 F  
PA 5 13 11 12 41  
IWA 6 2 10 2 20  

Friday, the Port Aransas girls faced Aransas Pass in what turned out to be the championship bout, falling by only two points after a valiant effort to tie the game and send it into overtime.

The 3A Lady Panthers forged ahead in the first period, 13-6, and despite outscoring their opponents in all three subsequent periods, the Lady Marlins couldn’t quite catch up.

“A strong second half got us back into the game, after we had trailed by as much as nine points earlier in the game,” Cowen said. “Roberson came in and hit some big baskets at key times. Murray’s nine-point second half also played a vital role in our comeback effort. In the end, our attempt to tie and go to overtime fell short, putting us in second place for the tournament.”

Murray’s second half led to a 16- point game for her, making her the Lady Marlins’ leading scorer. Savanna Ortiz followed with 10 points, Roberson had eight, Perez put in five and Nixon scored three.

Scoring by Quarters        
1 2 3 4 F    
PA 6 9 14 13 42  
AP 13 7 13 11 44  

The following day, Saturday, Dec. 11, the Lady Panthers started against the 3A Robstown Lady Cotton Pickers.

After outscoring Robstown, 4-2, in the first period, Port Aransas fell behind in the scoring, trailing 13-21 as the game moved into the final quarter. A 21-point last period, however, pulled the game out for them.

“I think the last day was a challenge for us, and ultimately was good for us as a learning experience,” Cowen said. “We spent so much emotion and energy on the previous game. Even with all effort exerted in the game against Aransas Pass, win or lose, we need to be able to refocus quickly and get ready for the next opponent. This is a valuable lesson for us and will be revisited come district and playoffs.”

Murray put in 20 points against Robstown and again led the Port Aransas scoring. Savanna Ortiz followed with six, Roberson hit four, Nixon scored three and Balcom put in one.

Scoring by Quarters        
  1 2 3 4 F  
PA 4 5 4 21 34  
RHS 2 9 10 4 25  

The Robstown victory led to a contest later on Saturday against the Odem Lady Owls, and the Lady Marlins squeezed out a 36-35 win after another slow start. After trailing 8-11 at the end of the first quarter, they piled in 11 points in the second to lead at the half, 19-17. They managed to hold on during the second half for the close victory.

Again, Murray led the scoring and was the only one in double digits, with 14. Kelsey Ortiz hit seven, Nixon put in six, Perez hit five, Savannah Ortiz scored three and Roberson hit one.

Scoring by Quarters        
  1 2 3 4 F  
PA 8 11 8 9 36  
OHS 11 6 6 12 35  

The tournament brings the Lady Marlins’ varsity record to 9-6 for the year.

“It was good for us, because we get to get so many games throughout the weekend,” Cowen summed up.

“We are getting consistent scoring from Murray, as well as some tremendous play from our bench and underclassman. Savannah Ortiz and Roberson have both continued to improve with each possession.

“Foul trouble and defensive mismatches have forced different people to play many minutes in each ballgame, and as a result, different players are coming through for us each game.

“We also had a number of opportunities to talk about late game situations, and with each game we handled those situations a little better.”


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