Coming back 0-4 at the Stanley Whisenhunt Classic Tournament in Abilene, Texas, the Lady Mavs Varsity Basketball returned home to play the Manor Mustangs on Tuesday, Nov. 17, in their first district game of the season. Stepping into the game with a 1-5 non-district record, the Lady Mavs opened district play with a loss, ending the game 48-56.

Starting off the game with the Mustangs winning the tip and scoring the first points of the game, the Mavericks quickly answered offensively and scored off a putback under the basket. Continuing into the game the Mavericks were neck and neck with the Mustangs, and despite the Mavericks’ defensive efforts they were unable to secure a lead going into the half, walking into halftime trailing by 7 points. 

“In the 1st quarter, we were playing really well, but some of our shots weren’t falling,” Senior forward Lila Svoboda said. “We were falling behind defensively and we were letting them get a lot of fast break layups.” 

Going into the second half the Mavericks continued to struggle to finish under the basket, allowing the Mustangs to keep their lead throughout the game. In the fourth quarter the Mavericks were able to gain traction only behind four points, but the Mavericks’ inability to finish caused them to be unable to secure the lead, ending the game with a loss by just 8 points.

“We really tried to pick up our energy and stop them from getting those open layups, but some of them were just getting in our head and we were getting tired mentally and physically, so we just couldn’t get it together.” Svoboda said. “But since we lost, we’ve learned a lot about ourselves and we’re ready to show our improvement on Friday.”

The Lady Mavs will hit the court again for a non-conference away game against Anderson High School on Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:00 PM.