The Lady Kats have moved into district play after a busy preseason. The following is a recapped of play in December.
Kennedale lost a heart breaker December 12, when they played 4A Aledo (10-1). The Lady Kats got behind in the first quarter by four and then added another 6 to that deficit in the 2nd quarter. {{more}}
Whatever Coach Mindy Youngs said at halftime with the Kats down by 10, got the Lady Kats roaring back on the court. The second half belonged to Kennedale and the regulation game ended knotted at 40. But in overtime, the Aledo managed to control the bucket and came up with the two points needed to win the game, 49-47.
For the game McKinley Bostad was top scorer for the Kats with 22. Other Kennedale players scoring were Sadie Mahnesmith 10, Briana Ellis 7, Jasmyn Poe 6 and Kathryn Mosely 2.
The following night, December 13, the Lady Kats bested 4A Granbury, 53-43. Granbury (8-5) came out strong in the first quarter and outscoring Kennedale 12-7. However, that would be the only quarter that Granbury would win because the Lady Kats would claimed the rest. Scoring for Kennedale was Bostad with 23, Poe with 11, Mahnesmith had 8, Brenee Ellis scored 7, Anna Llamas and Dajia Simmons each had 2.
December 17, the Lady Kats faced 2A Krum. Starting off slow Kennedale let Krum control the 1st quarter, but again, the Lady Kats clawed their way back to tie the game at 20 by halftime. Kennedale then took control of the game, stifling Krum by allowing them only 11 points while scoring 39. Kennedale won the game going away 59-31.
Scoring in double figures were Bostad (18), Mahnesmith (12) and Poe (12). Other Kats scoring were Ellis (7), Mosely (6), Llamas (2) and Simmons (2).
The Lady Kats played at home on December 20, taking on the Lady Honey Bees from Stephenville. These two teams had last played in the Region 1 Final in May of last year. That game, won by Kennedale, sent the Kats to Austin and the Final Four. Kennedale won this game 61-42.
“We missed a couple of layups and close shots right at the start and we got in a hole,” Stephenville Coach Thorpe explained. “We just couldn’t fight out of it.” (source Stephenville Empire Tribune).
Kennedale?s Bostad led all players with 23 points. Mahnesmith popped in 20, followed by Ellis with 6, Llama and Poe each had 5 and Mosely had 2.
The Mansfield Holiday Tournament (December 26-28)
Kennedale was 6-5 going into the Christmas holidays and the Mansfield Spring Creek Tournament. This is a highly regarded annual tournament that brings a large field of ranked and respected teams from around the state. The teams included 4A and 5A teams plus two 3A teams – Stephenville and Kennedale. In tournament play Kennedale played two 5A teams and two 4A teams and went 0-4 which included three very competitive games.
First up was Aledo, ranked #2 in 4A and a team the Lady Kats had lost to in overtime two weeks earlier. This time it was all Aledo who won this game 59-32. Moving into the consolation bracket, the Kats played 5A Grapevine losing by 3 (55-52). 4A Mansfield Lake Ridge beat the Lady Kats by a score of 57-54. The final game for Kennedale came against 5A Garland Lakeveiw Centennial, losing by a score of 50-45.
Kennedale starts district play with a misleading record of 6-9. Kennedale is expected to defend its district title successfully this season.
