By Michael Adams
madams@onthesidelinessports.com

LEANDER – If area coaches needed a refresher on preparation, the Glenn Lady Grizzlies gave a formal presentation Tuesday night.

Class 5A No. 4 Glenn (17-1, 3-0) defense frustrated Hays’ athletic backcourt of Ednia Stigall and Jivana Caceres enroute to a dominating 58-35 win over the No. 12 Lady Hawks at Glenn High School.

• See more photos from Tuesday’s game

Hays’s duo combined for 23 points with Stigall scoring a team-high 13 on a night the Hawks shot just 32% from the floor. A big part of Hays’ shooting struggles was a fierce defensive effort by the Grizzlies, something Glenn head coach Kenny Mann said was part of the game plan.

“We put a lot of game planning into this one,” he said. “We knew what they were going to do, and our girls paid attention in practice. I can’t say enough about the defense we played tonight.”

Glenn had some early struggles fending off the Hays offense and at the free-throw line.

The first two minutes of the game went without a field goal until Stagill hit a jumper to give Hays (14-5, 2-1) its first and only lead of the game. Stagill scored eight of her 13 points in the first quarter.

Despite making just 3 of 10 free-throw attempts in the first half, Glenn’s offense caught fire behind Cindy Foka, who scored nine of her team-high 17 points in the frame.

With a 14-11 lead heading into the second quarter, freshman Libby Lee and Soma Okolo led a 20-point scoring barrage in the second quarter. Lee scored 9 of her 13 points in the frame, which included a half-court buzzer beater that sent the raucous home crowd into a frenzy.

Okolo scored seven of her team-high 17 points in the first half, as Glenn held a comfortable 34-22 lead at halftime

The Grizzlies pulled away in the fourth quarter, correcting its first half woes at the free-throw line with a perfect 5-for-5 performance from the charity stripe.

“That was a really good win for us,” said Glenn guard Mariah Houston, who scored four points in Tuesday’s contest. “Dominating this game like we did is really good for our confidence going forward… We work hard in practice and stay focused, which is what you need to do to survive in this district.”  

Up next

• Glenn vs. Burnet, 9 a.m., Dec. 28
• Hays at Fredericksburg, 6:30 p.m., Thursday

Box score

Glenn 58, Hays 35	1	2	3	4
Hays	11	11	8	5
Glenn	14	20	8	16