Salado Lady Eagles took the lead over the Burnet Lady Bulldogs with the 1:38 mark in the first quarter of their rubber match to determine the District 19-4A first place team and never relinquished it, winning 43-33 on Feb. 8 in Liberty Hill.
Lorena Perez hit shots with 1:55 and 1:28 to put the girls up for the first time as the Lady Eagles went on a 10-point run in the final two minutes of the first to lead 15-7. The girls hit all four of their free throws in the quarter.
Salado led by nine with two minutes left in the second but Haley McHam and Sydne Massoletti hit threes to trail 20-23 with a minute left. Reese Preston nailed a two pointer with 30 seconds in the half and Amanda Cantu tossed in a buzzer beater to put Salado up 28-20 at the half.
The third quarter was pockmarked with turnovers and missed shots as Salado added just five points and Burnet put up four points over the eight minutes.
The Lady Bulldogs scored seven straight points to open the fourth before Perez fought in the paint for a shot and sank the free throw at the 3:57 mark. She added four more points in the final minutes before Cantu nailed two free throw shots at the 1:14 for the final score 43-33.
The Lady Eagles will face Eastside Memorial in the first round of the playoffs at 4:30 pm. Feb. 13 at Salado High School. The game was postponed and moved to the later date and location. Austin LBJ was the fourth place team in District 20-4A but are under COVID-19 quarantine. The Lady Eagles are 20-6 and 10-1 in District play.
Salado 64
Jarrell 42
Salado Lady Eagles breezed past the Jarrell Lady Cougars, who are the third place team in District 19-4A, 64-42 on the road Feb. 5
Kenslee Konarik scored 14 points to lead the girls, shooting four of 10 in the field. She hit six of seven free throws. Konarik also had 11 rebounds, three steals, three deflections and two blocks.
Reese Preston was right behind with 13 points. Preston hit three of eight from beyond the arc. She had four rebounds, a steal and six deflections.
Lorena Perez scored 11 points and made five of six free throws. She also had five rebounds, an assist, five steals and a deflection.
Amanda Cantu scored 7 points and had seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and four deflections.
Reese Witmer scored 6 points and had six rebounds and a deflection.
Katie Law scored 5 points and had six rebounds and two deflections.
Megan Manibusan scored 4 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and two deflections.
Priscilla Torczynski scored 3 points, two rebounds, five assists, a steal and two deflections.
Darci Pryor scored 2 points and had a steal.
Salado is first in district 19-4A, followed by Burnet, Jarrell and Lake Belton.