SAN ANTONIO — Canyon just didn’t miss from the outside, or at least that’s what it seemed like when the Eagles tangled with the Boerne High girls basketball team in last Friday’s 4A state semifinals in the Alamodome.
Boerne’s opponent started 6 for 7 from the 3-point line in the first 11 minutes and finished 10 for 13 from beyond the arc for 77 percent 3-point shooting in the game.
Canyon went up by double digits in the first half but the Lady Hounds cut the lead to a single point in the second half but that’s as close as they came as the Lady Eagles went on to win the game, 53-39.
Boerne ends its season at 34-5, while Canyon played in the finals last Saturday lost to Waco Le Vega, 45-36.
Canyon’s Jaylee Moss was particularly lethal from the outside and went 7 for 7 in the game and finished with 26 points.
BHS coach Amy Ruede said they weren’t as aggressive as they needed to be to start.
“We knew that (Moss) was a good shooter and once we went to our trapping zone, they were going to have opportunities to knock it down,” she said. “Our defense has been our mainstay all year and we had some gaps in the first quarter that hurt us. They just hit shots. We knew Canyon was going to shoot it well.”
And they did. The Eagles were up 16-10 at the end of one behind four 3s. They added two more 3s in the second quarter to open up a 26-12 lead with 4:45 until halftime.
Boerne closed out the quarter on a 5-0 run with all five points coming from Averi Aaron, with three free throws and a 2-pointer and the lead was down to nine at 26-17.
Canyon had the first bucket of the third to make it 28-17, but that’s when Boerne made its move that ultimately come up short.
Coach Ruede said she knew they were going to respond at some point.
“I’m proud of their fight and grit, we could have laid down when we were down 12 or 14 and we didn’t,” she said. “I’m really proud of the team.”
The Lady Hounds scored the next 10 — 4 from Meredith Mcleod, 3 from Jenna Ruede, 2 from Abby Smith and a free throw from Chloe Donnell — and the lead was down to a point at 28-27.
Canyon ended their four- minute scoring drought with what else? A couple of 3s and their lead was back to 7 before Smith had the final bucket of the quarter to make it 34-29 going into the fourth period.
After Canyon made a free throw to start the final stanza, Donnell sank a 3 and the lead was trimmed to 3 at 35-32 but that’s as close as Boerne would come in the quarter.
Canyon hit two more 3s in the period and pulled ahead by 8 at 43-35 and then clinched it at the freethrow line. The Eagles shot 11 for 16 at the free-throw line for 69 percent and went 11 for 14 in the fourth quarter, including making 9 straight at one point.
Since Canyon hit ten 3s for 30 points and made 11 free throws for another 11 for 41 combined, it means that only 12 of their points — or 6 field goals — came from 2-point range.
Aaron tried to lead the charge in the final moments of the fourth like she did against Fredericksburg in the regional finals. She scored 5 of their 10 points in the fourth but fouled out and Canyon went on to win.
Aaron led the team with 13 points, Mcleod added 8, Smith scored 7, Donnell had 6 and Jenna Ruede hit for 5 points.
Smith and Mcleod both grabbed 6 rebounds.
Seniors are Averi Aaron, Abby Smith, Shelby Porter and Mickena Randle.
Smith said it’s been a fun ride over the last four years where they’ve played in the state semis three times.
“These last four years have been the biggest lessons and blessings that God could have given me,” she said.
Aaron agreed. “It was all I could ever ask for, to be able to do what we’ve done and to be able to have that platform,” she said.
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