The San Saba Lady Dillos went one and one in District play last week as they defeated the Brady Lady Bulldogs and suffered a hardfought overtime loss to the Early Lady Horns. As of right now in District play we’re 8-2 overall and in a first place tie with Early. Bangs suffered a rare home loss and fell to the Coleman Bluekatts by a score of 36-34 and sit in third place at 7-3.

Last Tuesday we defeated Brady by a score of 59-25. We got off to a bit of a slow start and only held a three point lead after one quarter at 11-8. We got things rolling in the second quarter and took a 29-14 lead into halftime. We had a sixteen point third quarter and pushed the lead to 45-20. We tallied fourteen points in the fourth quarter and got a nice home win. Silvia "Chiva" Jimenez got a big start for the night and I was glad for her. Silvia is a girl who has stayed with us for four years and I’m very proud of her. She hasn’t got a great deal of minutes but she works hard in practice and is greatly appreciated. Haylee Oliver led us in scoring with 14 followed by Danessa Vasquez with 11 and Tarah Crosby with 10. One neat thing was that we received scoring from every single player.

Last Friday we ventured over to Longhorn Land for what I knew was going to be a WAR!! Over the last four years we’ve had some great games with these gals and Fridays’ game was no different. Our game was moved up due to inclement weather but the early start had no effect on us as we had a great first half. We hit five 3 balls in the first half and took a thirteen point lead in at halftime. As well as we played in the first half was soon canceled out as Early went on an 11-0 run throughout the third quarter and got right back in the game. I knew Early was going to make a run and I was hoping we could "fight it off better" but that’s how momentum works at times during ballgames. We called a timeout to try and stop the bleeding but they tied up the score and Nicole Sears ultimately hit a shot which put us ahead for a short amount of time. Early actually lead 32-31 at the end of the third quarter. We finally settled down and got the lead back. Actually with a little over three minutes we pushed the lead back up to five on a nice baseline shot by Nicole Sears. Early answered right after Nicole’s bucket and that’s when things went south for us. We were actually up three with about 1:48 but we turned the ball over on two straight occassions which proved costly. Tresta Donahoo, Early’s senior point guard, hit some big shots to give the Lady Horns the lead late in the game. After Donahoo gave Early the lead we came down and were fouled. We missed two freethrows and had to foul Donahoo, she made both freethrows to put them up three. We pushed the ball back down the floor down with about twelve seconds left in the game. Nessa did a great job of penetrating and we had a great look for a three ball but it just rimmed out. We fouled Donahoo immediately and it looked bleak for us. Donahoo went to the line to ice the game and missed a freethrow. We pushed the ball to halfcourt and called timeout with four seconds left. We set up a play to get the ball back to Nessa who was the inbounder. Early did a great job of denying her and that’s when Haylee Oliver took control. In 21 years of coaching I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a three pointer hit quite like hers. Time was running out and Haylee hit an improbable three pointer at the buzzer to get us to overtime. We had all the momentum but Early just wouldn’t be denied. Donahoo hit a three early in the overtime to put the Lady Horns up but Haylee Oliver quickly answered to knot things up with a three of her own. Early made a few more plays down the stretch and we fell 55-49 in overtime. Last Friday night was about as good as it gets as far as atmosphere, intensity, crowd support, and two great teams going toe to toe. Like I heard Spike Dyke’s say one time, "If the Early game last Friday night couldn’t get you fired up then your wood must be wet!!" Nicole Sears had a big night for us scoring 20 points followed by Haylee Oliver with 9. Tarah Crosby and Nessa Vasquez both scored 7 points also. Well, we almost stole one last Friday night and what hurt even more after the loss was that Coleman beat Bangs. We had a great opportunity to put us in the driver’s seat for the District Championship. With two games left we only need to win one game to at least clinch a playoff spot. We have Comanche at home and then we end up at Coleman who is playing great basketball at this point in the season. Early finishes up the season with games against Comanche, Coleman and Dublin. Bangs has games with Brady and Dublin. There’s so much still up in the air as far as getting into the playoffs so the best thing for us to do is to prepare for Comanche and not worry about anything else. All we can do is take care of business and see how the chips fall. I hate "losing and moral losses" but our Lady Dillos did play their hearts out and I was very proud of them for their effort. We still turned the ball over too much down the stretch and we still have to fix that if we’re going to win tight, competitive battles. Thank you Dillo Fans for the great support. Eventhough we had an early start time it didn’t deter you guys one bit. Also, the Little Lady Dillos downed Llano last Saturday by a score of 27-21. We rock and rolled over in Llano County and a great time was had by all. Congrats to Coach Welch and his staff and the Dillos for their big road win in Early as well. Alright Dillo Fans, we need you LOUD and PROUD this Friday night as we hope to clinch a playoff spot. STUDENT BODY, you guys were awesome last Friday night and I wouldn’t mind if you brought the noise and enthusiasm once again! (Come on TYLER MCINTOSH- round up the BIG NASTIES AND GET THEM TO THE GAMES ON FRIDAY!!). I almost felt like I was at a Duke game with the Cameron Crazies at times during the Early game last Friday. (You’ll like that Coach Easterwood!!) See you Friday and God Bless - MOE/Phil 4:13.