McMullen County Cowgirl Mamie Shelton battles for a loose ball against a Fayetteville Lady Lion as Allie Donnell and Destinee Thomas look on. The Cowgirls were facing Moulton on press night in the Regional Quarter-Finals. DAVID WICKERSHAM | PLEASANTON EXPRESS The #11 state ranked McMullen County Cowgirls were able to break an internal streak as they captured their first playoff victory since 2004. The Cowgirls used early defensive dominance, to put the Fayetteville Lady Lions into a hole they were unable to get out of. Allie Donnell and Destinee Thomas were impressive offensively, as they finished in double digit scoring in the Cowgirls 49-41 Area Victory last Thursday night at S.A. Wagner High School.

“We had about as good of a start as what any coach could want. We shot the ball extremely well early. Allie Donnell hit some big three pointers for us to get us going and everyone else contributed to the scoring,” stated Coach Tony Taylor, when asked about his teams hot start.

The Cowgirls jumped on a Fayetteville team many thought of as the favorite in this one. The Cowgirls used three big three-point- ers by Donnell and Shelton, to fuel their squad to a 20-3 advantage after one quarter of action. It was evident in the quarter, the Lady Lions would have to adjust to McMullen County’s defensive presence or it would turn into a long night in San Antonio.

In the second quarter, adjustments were made by Fayetteville, as the Cowgirls did cool off a bit on both ends of the court. Tilden managed just seven points, as the Lady Lions put together a 10-point quarter. This allowed them to close the gap just a bit, as Tilden led 27-13 at the half.

“As good as we played in the first quarter, we went five minutes without scoring in the second quarter, but finally hit a few shots before the half. We had a good third quarter as we pushed the lead to as many as nineteen in the quarter,” stated Taylor.

Intensity was back up on both ends of the court as Thomas and Donnell went back to work. They combined for a fourteen point quarter, as the Cowgirl defensive and press proved deadly holding the Lady Lions eleven in the quarter. This allowed McMullen County to hold a 41-24 lead going into the final quarter.

“Give Fayetteville credit, they continued to play hard and were able to cut the lead down in the final quarter. I thought our guard play on defense was really good. Jasmyn Smith, Mamie Shelton, Anna Castren, Lidia McBee, Allie Donnell and Hailey Ruiz did a nice job against their ball handlers,” Coach Taylor added.

In the fourth quarter, the Cowgirls were outscored by the Lady Lions 17-8, but they managed to hold on for the 49-41 victory.

“Our post players really stepped up as well led by Destinee Thomas and Danielle Dawson followed by Heather Gillin and Mariah Mesa. We played with a great intensity from start to finish, so we remain alive in the playoffs. It was a team victory as we got contributions from every member which makes the win even sweeter,” added Taylor in closing.

Scoring- Donnell 17, Thomas 15, Castren 5, Shelton 5, Dawson 3, Smith 2 and Gillin 2. The Cowgirls finished 7-12 from the free throw line.

Playoff ride continues- The #11 McMullen County Cowgirls were on the road in Floresville on press night facing # 14 Moulton in the Regional Quarter-Finals.

The winner of this game moves on to the Regional Tournament this weekend at New Braunfels Canyon High School in New Braunfels. The winner of this match-up would face the winner of a Rochelle-Evant match-up on Friday, February 24th at 4:00 p.m. The other four teams alive as of press night in Class 1A, Division II Region IV included Santa Anna, Walnut Springs, Leakey and Round- Top Carmine.

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