Photos Courtesy of Charla Shults
The Lady Harvesters (2-5, 6-21) wrapped up the first round of district play last week with a road game Tuesday against the Randall Lady Raiders and then coming back home to face the Dumas Demons on Friday in McNeely Fieldhouse.
Randall came out of the gate with an 18-6 lead after the first quarter. They built the lead to 34-9 at halftime. The lead continued to grow with the score resting 54-19 after three quarters. The final score was Randall 63, Pampa 26.
“Randall’s gym is always a tough place to play. Randall came out hot and attacked us from the start. We didn’t match their intensity right away and they took advantage of it. We got down early but credit to the fightin’ Lady Harvesters, they just don’t give up. We continued to play hard and continued to fight, but we just dug too big of a hole to climb out of. Our effort/intensity in the second half was much better,” Head Coach Clint Watson said.
The Lady Harvesters were able to secure their second win of the district season on Friday night. Pampa came out firing with an 18-4 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Harvesters expanded on that lead to 34-11 at halftime. They played lights out defense in the third quarter, holding Dumas to two points. After three, the score was 40-13. The incredible defense continued to end the game with a 46-13 win as Pampa shut out Dumas in the final quarter.
“Friday night's game against Dumas, we came out playing with great intensity from the start. Our defense attacked the Demonettes all game (we forced over 30 turnovers, while only committing 14). Our defensive rotations were all together and played with great pace throughout the game. We were working together and moving the ball well on offense. Emmy knocked down 5 3-pointers, Brooklyn attacked the basket hard all evening. I’m proud that we moved the ball well. We didn’t settle, we attacked all night. We need that kind of offensive mentality the rest of the season,” Watson said.
Pampa begins round two of district play with Canyon at home Tuesday, followed by a trip to Amarillo to face the West Plains Lady Wolves on Friday. I asked Coach Watson for a preview on those two games.
“We have two tough games coming up this week. Depending on which poll you look at, Canyon is either ranked #1 or #2. I would like to see our three-point defense play better against them this time. I felt like we left them too open at times the first time we played them. They are going to press us, so we have to be able to handle the pressure. We need to utilize ball fakes a little more this time. Our second half against them was better than the first half, I’d like to see us have that approach. We just need to settle down and play our style of play. We are going to pick and choose when to press. We need to have an aggressive mindset from the start,” Watson said. “Friday night's game at West Plains will be crucial. We are a game behind them right now in the district standings. Our first game with them was back and forth, until the 4th quarter and we just ran out of gas. We need a fast start and attack them all evening.”
Myla Zarate
Every article, we are going to showcase one player on the team. This week, that player is Sophomore Guard Myla Zarate.
“Myla is a valuable member of this team. She is tough and always works extremely hard. She always guards the other team's best offensive player. She might be outsized on the court, but her toughness is always in her favor.” Watson said.
Stat Recap v. Randall
Junior Payton Gowin had one point and one rebound. Junior Addi Humphrey had one point and one rebound. Sophomore Brooklyn Warren had four points, two rebounds, and one deflection. Junior Tamblynn Moss had one rebound, one assist, and one steal. Junior Olivia Owens had three rebounds. Sophomore Emmy Boutsamaly had six points, four rebounds, three assists, two deflections, and three steals. Sophomore Nayelie Garcia had one rebound. Sophomore Karsyn Brown had six points, three rebounds, and one deflection. Zarate had five points, one three-pointer, and two rebounds. Sophomore Madi Barton had three points, two rebounds, one assist, two deflections, and one steal.
As a team, Pampa shot 7-14 from the free throw line, made one three-pointer, had 25 rebounds, five assists, five steals, and six deflections.
Full stats were unavailable for the Dumas game due to a technical error. Boutsamaly scored 17 points and Warren scored 14 points in that game.
Again, you can catch the Lady Harvesters at home on Tuesday night against Canyon and Friday on the road at West Plains (weather permitting).
