Lorena rains 3’s, ousts Lady Lions from postseason

CHINA SPRING – A year ago, the Teague girls basketball team knocked off Lorena, 34-28, in the bi-district round of the Class 3A state playoffs.

An encore presentation was not in the cards Monday evening. The Lady Leopards avenged last year’s playoff exit with a 55-19 victory over the Lady Lions in a 3A bi-district contest in China Spring.

Lorena (28-6) advanced to the area round where it will face Rice at a time, date and site to be determined. Teague finished its season 17-16.

For the Lady Lions, it was the conclusion of a season that resembled a Cinderella story. Teague was forced to regroup after senior point guard Jolee Haley suffered a season- ending knee injury and had to win its final game and have Groesbeck lose just to get into the playoffs.

For the Lady Leopards, payback was on their minds and 3-pointers were aplenty. Lorena made eight shots from beyond the arc with seniors Reese Rowell and Avery Harris making four and three of those shots, respectively.

The Lady Leopards built a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back. A 3-pointer from A’shaiya Jones and a layup from Adyson Beaird put the Lady Lions on the scoreboard.

Lorena led 12-5 after one quarter of play and scored 23 straight points to build a commanding 34-5 lead late in the second quarter. A free throw by Jayci Phillips ended Teague’s scoring drought and Lorena enjoyed a 34-6 halftime lead.

The Lady Leopards continued to stymie the Lady Lions in the second half by holding them to 7 and 6 points, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters. Linsey Satterwhite, one of Teague’s two seniors, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers after halftime and led her team with 6 points.

Phillips and Bethanah Owens each had 4 points as well. For Lorena, Harris and Jordan Mitchell each had 13 points, while Rowell had 12.

Monday’s contest was the last one for Satterwhite in a Lady Lions uniform. It was also the final game for Haley as a Lady Lion.