By Jim Irish
Photos by Meredith Seaver/Bryan-College Station Eagle
Bastrop girls tall post players, Keyaira Limuel and Navaeh Jones, scored inside against Bryan Rudder, but it came at a high price.
Limuel and Jones combined for 37 points but were saddled with fouls. Jones, who played only 19 of 32 minutes in the regional semifinal, fouled out with 4:59 remaining in the fourth quarter. Limuel followed Jones to the bench three minutes later.
"That officiating is the worst I've ever seen. ... That caused us to get in foul trouble early."
-- Bastrop coach La Barbera Roberson
Trailing by 15 points at the end of the third quarter, Bastrop (34-6) played with ferocity through the fourth quarter. The Bears scored 11 consecutive points at one point. When Limuel, a 6-foot-2 junior, scored on an offensive rebound, Bastrop sliced the margin to 52-49 with 4:34 left.
But the Bears, ranked No. 25 in Texas in Class 5A, couldn’t make up for the loss of their top scorers, falling to Rudder 73-54 at Rockdale High School on Tuesday.
Jones, who has signed a scholarship to play at Charleston (S.C.) Southern, scored 16 points on 6-of-8 from the floor and grabbed 12 rebounds. A hair under 6-2, Jones also contributed three assists.
Limuel led all scorers with 21 points and snagged 12 rebounds. She blocked four shots and had three steals.
In the heat of the moment after the game, Bastrop coach La Barbera Roberson criticized the officiating. Although Rudder played a full-court press the entire game, no one fouled out.
“That officiating is the worst I’ve ever seen,” Roberson said. “The referees played a big part in this (loss). That caused us to get in foul trouble early.”
More specifically, Roberson complained about unequal fouls committed by both teams.
”They rode us all the way down (the court) with the arm on us,” she said. “As soon as we do it, we get a foul. That kinda stuff really turns the game around.”
The worst foul, Roberson said, occurred on Jones’ fifth to put her on the bench.
”Navaeh had her hand on top of the ball, and he called a foul,” she said.
Bastrop struggled to escape Rudder’s press. Rudder coach Karla Calhoun rotated 11 “fresh” athletes to maintain the press. As a result, Bastrop committed 34 turnovers, while Rudder had 20. The Wolves scored 25 points off Bastrop turnovers.
”I just think we panicked,” Roberson said about the press. “We threw the ball away a lot.”
Roberson instructs the method to break the press every day in practice.
”Dribble, draw (the defender), and make the pass before the trap,” she said.
Roberson praised her team for their competitiveness.
”I liked the second and third effort we gave,” she said. “I liked that we stayed in the game and fought all the way to the end.”
One key factor was that Bastrop converted only 39% (13-of-33) free throws. Rudder, meanwhile, cashed in on 71% (17-of-24).
Rudder also hit six 3-pointers compared to Bastrop’s one, by Kenadee Lawhon, who scored nine points.
"We wanted to keep (their posts) as far away from the basket as possible."
-- Rudder coach Karla Calhoun
Rudder’s Calhoun, who played four years at Texas A&M, including on the 2011 NCAA championship team in her freshman season, knew that Bastrop had some “awesome post players.”
Calhoun said the strategy was to apply pressure on the Bastrop guards.
”We wanted to keep (their posts) as far away from the basket as possible,” she said. “Because if they got to the basket, we were a little bit smaller.”
Alaina Hill led Rudder with 20 points, while Kimora Maxey and Christionna Ellis chipped in 16 and 14 points, respectively.
”We don’t necessarily have one person who scores everything,” Calhoun said. “… They’re not selfish, and they will pass the ball.”
Rudder will face No. 17 Barbers Hill (31-7) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Merrell Center in Katy.
Jim Irish is a freelance writer in Bastrop, Texas
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