THE POST-SIGNAL / Dillon Nelson
Midland’s Makenzie Oliver goes up for two of her 19 points Thursday during the Lady Rebels’ 63-53 loss Class 4A’s No. 2 ranked A.J. Ellender Thursday in the second day of action at the Midland Holiday Spectacular.
Lady Rebels’ rally falls short
The Midland Lady Rebels made a late run, but it wasn’t enough in their matchup with Class 4A A.J. Ellender Thursday at the MHS Holiday Spectacular.
The Lady Rebels trailed by as many as 21 early in the fourth quarter before outscoring the Lady Patriots 15-7 down the stretch in 63-53 loss.
Ellender, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, improved to 12-1 with the victory.
The Lady Rebels fell to 11-6.
The Lady Patriots began to pull away early in the second quarter and pushed their lead to 12, but Midland battled back to get within six (30-26) on a steal and a layup by Makenzie Oliver.
The guests added the final two baskets of the frame after that to take a 34-26 advantage at the break.
The third quarter was Midland’s undoing, however.
The Lady Rebels turned the ball over 12 times during the frame, enabling the Lady Patriots to go on a 9-0 run and push the lead to 16 (45-29) midway through the quarter.
Oliver scored seven of her 19 points in the quarter but Ellender was still able to push its advantage to 18 (56-38) entering the final stanza.
Oliver and Gracie Miller combined for 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Miller hit five shots from beyond the arc and finished with a team-high 24 points. Oliver followed with 19 points and Holi Myers added six. Myra Carlson and Caitlyn Boudreaux rounded out the Lady Rebels’ offense with three and one point, respectively.