KFDM COOP Posted January 20, 2009 Author Report Posted January 20, 2009 Williams, Lady Bears spank Lumberton Van Wade The Orange Leader LITTLE CYPRESS — Using the hot hand of Ellen Williams and a tenacious defense, the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Lady Bears gained some more separation in the District 20-4A race. Williams cut loose for 21 points, hitting four three-pointers, as she led the Lady Bears to a convincing 44-32 victory. The win solidified the Lady Bears (13-10, 5-3) in the third-place position in the 20-4A playoff race. LC-M was tied with Livingston for third entering the night. Meanwhile, Lumberton dropped to 3-5 in district. The top four teams in Class 4A this year move on to the playoffs. The Lady Raiders led 18-15 early in the second quarter but Williams canned two consecutive three-point bombs and the Lady Bears closed the half with a 10-0 spurt to lead 25-18 at the break. LC-M received a stout defensive effort from the whole team, sparked by defensive dynamo Amber Soileau. Soileau finished with 10 points and had five steal. Post Shelby Apperson came off the bench to pitch in four points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Hailey Christian helped keep Lumberton at bay in the second half with five big points. Katie Harrell played fierce defense and also pulled down seven rebounds. Alyssa Valastro paced the Lady Raiders with 14 points and also had six rebounds. Kindell Johnston contributed 10 points and seven boards. Danielle Stewart had five points and nine rebounds while Rachel Kemp grabbed five boards. The Lady Bears led just 34-28 entering the final period. However, Williams converted a floater on the baseline and then converted a steal into a layup. Soileau eventually buried two free throws to give the Lady Bears a comfortable 42-30 cushion with 1:58 remaining. The Lady Bears forced the Lady Raiders into eight of their 14 turnovers in the final eight minutes. The lady Bears committed 17 turnovers of their own. LC-M finished with a 32-30 rebounding edge. The Lady Bears went 6-of-13 from the free-throw line while the Lady Raiders were just 10-of-23. The only rough patch the Lady Bears had came when standout post Tayler Thompson, who has had a superb campaign, went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury going in for a layup. She was sent to the hospital for X-rays. The Lady Bears return to action Friday when they venture to Beaumont to take on second-place Beaumont Ozen.
CRUSHCOACH Posted January 22, 2009 Report Posted January 22, 2009 Great game by the Lady Bears but it may have been a costly one. Tayler Thompson went down early in the 2nd half with a knee injury, that may cost her the rest of the season. Hate to have that happen to anyone but especially her. She has worked her butt off to become a better post player for her Senior season and she has improved tremendously. If she isn't able to return, there will be a big hole to fill in the middle for LCM. My prayers go out to Tayler and family as they find out more about the injury. Hope everything is OK, and she's able to return.
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