Stallions hold on to win late
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune
Madera South’s Aleecia Rosel scored nine points in a 50-48 victory over Sanger on Tuesday at Madera South.
The Madera South Stallions girls basketball team withstood a ferocious rally after they were outscored 11-3 in the final quarter to defeat Sanger, 50-48, in a County/Metro Athletic Conference game.
“It went very well for us,” head coach Johnny Sharp said. “Our team stayed to the script and we were able to do anything we’ve been working on in practice. We were extremely happy about that.”
The Stallions came out of the gates hot, led by Le’Ajanae Kinley, who had eight points in the quarter and 16 for the game. In the first quarter, Kinley connected on two triples, which helped the home team get off to a 16-9 start.
The second quarter began after Aleecia Rosel drove to the rim for a tough basket. She finished the game with 9 points.
The Stallions also showed their defensive prowess after Treasuri Thomas blocked the opponent guard’s shot. Lanaye Brewer followed up with an easy layup over her defender to push the lead to 11 points.
Kinley continued her strong first half after a 10-foot jumper to push the lead.
With two minutes left in the second quarter, Rosel connected from downtown to give the Stallions some breathing room. With 10 seconds remaining in the half, Kinley connected on a 3-pointer to give her team momentum heading into the break.
The Apaches opened the third quarter red hot after they went on a 6-0 run to tie the game with seven minutes remaining.
Lexi Eller pushed the lead to four points after she knocked down a 10-foot jumper over her defender.
Moosey Warren dominated the third quarter with seven points after she connected on consecutive layups.
With 40 seconds left in the third, Eller brought the crowd to their feet after she launched a deep 3-pointer to close out the quarter with the lead.
The fourth quarter took a turn for the Stallions after they opened the last frame with consecutive turnovers.
The Apaches held the Stallions to only three points in the quarter. Kinley was the only Stallion to get on the scoreboard.
With a minute left in the game, Kinley made two clutch free throws to ice the game for the Stallions. With 20 seconds left, the Apaches had a chance to tie the game with three free throws but are only able to convert one of the shots.
