Mineral Wells Area News

Mineral Wells is 8-2 and winners of three straight

By DAVID MAY | Special to Mineral Wells Area News

Photos by MWISD

The Mineral Wells Lady Rams are 8-2 after defeating Millsap, 35-23, in their last outing two days before Thanksgiving Day to cap a 3-1 Bowie Tournament appearance.

A veteran squad under MWHS alum and head coach Michael Ball appears to have found solid footing coming off last season’s 18-16 overall record.

The Lady Rams are outscoring their opponents by a 45-30 clip in the season’s early stages.

After dropping the first game of the pre-holiday tourney to Muenster, the Lady Rams reeled off three straight wins over Holliday, Tioga and Millsap.

The Holliday game was a nail-biter as the Lady Rams left the floor with a 36-35 win, handing the Lady Eagles their sixth straight loss. Senior captain Kahlea Samples led the Lady Rams with nine points to go with four steals and two blocked shots. Junior forward Jaylee Newman matched Samples with nine points of her own.

Mineral Wells had a much easier time facing Tioga as three Lady Rams scored in double figures to charge a 56-32 win over the Lady Bulldogs. Samples and Newman again led the way with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while junior guard Addyson Moore provided 11 points. Moore and Samples both hit two three-point shots. Samples padded her stats line with four assists and four steals. Sophomore guard Aniya Richardson chipped in nine points.

Defensively, junior post Emery Boswell hauled down seven rebounds as the Lady Rams tallied 31 boards cleared, including 10 cleaned off the offensive glass.

Mineral Wells capped their tournament run with a 35-23 win over Millsap. The Lady Bulldogs got off to a hot start, taking a 10-4 lead after the first period. But it would be the Lady Rams scoring in double figures in the remaining three quarters while the defense limited Millsap to just 13 total points the rest of the way.

Richardson was explosive for Mineral Wells, pouring in 17 points that included three made three-pointers. She was 6-of-14 from the floor. The young guard added five rebounds and five steals in her best game as a Lady Ram.

The Lady Rams opened the season with a loss at Grandview, followed by five straight wins over Carrollton Turner, Azle, Jacksboro, Iowa Park and Breckenridge.

The Turner win was the ladies’ best of the season to date, a dominating 81-10 victory that saw Samples just miss a double-double with 20 points and nine steals. Newman led the offensive explosion with 23 points while Moore and Richardson had 14 and 12 points, respectively. Boswell hauled in 10 rebounds, and the defense recorded 25 steals to key the victory.

The Lady Rams return from the holiday break on Tuesday, Dec. 3, returning to Bowie to face the Lady Jackrabbits (7-4). Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. The game marks the first of three consecutive road trips, with games at Saginaw and Lorena to follow. Mineral Wells will next play on its home floor on Dec. 20 facing Newcastle, the last game before district action begins on Jan. 3 after the Christmas holiday break.