Lady Horns Win 10th in a Row, Clinch Basketball Playoff Berth

The Schulenburg Lady Shorthorn basketball team won their 10th consecutive game and clinched a playoff spot Friday night as they defeated Ganado high school 45-39.

This win puts them at 14-3 overall and 7-0 in district.

Schulenburg’s full-court press devoured the Lady Indians’ offense early on until Ganado started to find it’s rhythm with the rock throughout the game, as well as sharpen up on the defensive side of the ball.

“I’ll give them credit,” said Schulenburg head girl’s basketball coach Phillip Eddins. “They’re aggressive, they get after it. We didn’t do a very good job of taking care of the ball. That’s on us more than anything. We got to do a better job of taking care of the ball, making good passes, and being strong through contact. They did a good job. They’re a much improved basketball team from the past.”

While a comeback seemed to be brewing for Ganado, senior Schulenburg guard Erica Otto had other plans as she converted two critical lay ups in the remaining two minutes of the fourth quarter and finished with 17 points on the night to seal a hard-fought win.

“Coming into the game, we knew that we wanted to make the playoffs with this one,” Otto said. “I know that I needed to come out and just finish. We’ve been preaching ‘finish, finish, finish’ because me and Airyanna (Rodriguez) don’t tend to finish the lay ups or the easy blocked shots that we’ll get. Tonight, we knew that we wanted to win and those two big lay ups just come from practicing, working my right hand, and knowing that I can take pretty much anybody to the hole.”

Schuleburg’s pesky defense in the first period resulted in easy lay ups and earned them a 12-4 lead going into the second. Ganado adjusted by going into a 2-2-1 full-court press that didn’t seem as effective due to the Lady Horn’s shot-making. Offensive rebounding for Schulenburg was also a key component to it’s early success along with forcing turnovers.

A more quiet second quarter led to a 29-19 halftime lead for the Lady Horns, even with Ganado improving on it’s shot making. Both teams started the third by sinking three pointers. The three ball was what kept Ganado in contention during crunch time, while upping the pressure on defense resulting in turnovers in favor of the Lady Indians.

Schulenburg decided to ice the clock towards the closing minutes of the third before Ganado forced another turnover and made a fast-break lay up in the last few seconds to cut the Schulenburg lead to 37-31 going into the final quarter. Ganado did everything they could to gain an advantage as Schulenburg milked time.

One of Otto’s lay ups in the fourth was followed by a steal and lay up for the Lady Indians to make it 43-37 ball game with about a minute and a half left. Then Otto’s ability to find space within the perimeter at the oneminute mark was how she was able to find the basket with her second huge lay up as Schulenburg played keep away and secured a 45-39 victory.

1/15/21

Schulenburg girls 45,

Ganado 39

Schulenburg 21 8 8 8 – 45

Ganado 12 7 12 8 – 39

Schulenburg scoring: Erica Otto 17, Jordan Sommer 5, Tamara Otto 1, Morgan Marburger 5, Julie Guentert 8, Airyanna Rodriguez 9.