| Get BrazosSports by Email | Contact Us | Archive
TEMPLE -- The A&M Consolidated girls basketball team was terrible at first. Then the Lady Tigers turned terrific. Next they were troubling, when most of the lead the terrific time produced slipped away.
Finally, though, the Lady Tigers were deep, much deeper than Temple.
Reserve Ashley Adeyemi and guard Karrian Chambers, a recent call-up from the junior varsity, sparked a fourth-quarter run that lifted Consol to a 68-50 victory over the Tem-Cats on Friday night at Wildcat Gym.
The Lady Tigers (7-7, 2-0 District 12-5A) overcame a sloppy first quarter and built a five-point halftime lead. Consol dominated the first 2 minutes of the third quarter, using its pressure defense and sharp shooting to roar to a 43-25 advantage.
However, the Tem-Cats (8-8, 0-2) crept to within 50-45 early in the fourth quarter.
Chambers, a junior who started the season on the JV after playing volleyball, started Consol's clinching burst with a 10-foot jumper. After the Lady Tigers forced a turnover, Chambers passed to Adeyemi for a fast-break basket. Adeyemi was fouled on the play and made the free throw.
Adeyemi added two more free throws that were sandwiched by baskets from freshman Tierra Tucker. After Temple missed two free throws, Rachel Carter drained a 3-pointer to extend the Consol streak.
"Our girls are finally starting to get focused on the little things ... meeting the ball, working together, hustling with someone when they get a steal," Consol coach Nelda Gilbert said. "We didn't do it the whole time, but we did it at that time.
"Ashley just doesn't know her talent. She has started to put in the time to get better, and the girls have to start looking for her more. Karrian is one of those sleeper players. She is very athletic. People that play soccer know how to read the court better than anybody I know. That's one thing that helps Karrian a lot."
Temple had a chance to trim the 50-45 deficit just before the big Consol run, but Tem-Cat senior guard Destiny Bell launched a hurried 21-foot jumper that missed.
"We just have to have better shot selection," Temple coach Tamarah Sanders said.
The Tem-Cats were atrocious from the free-throw line, missing 18 of 30 from the stripe. Temple missed its first seven free throws and misfired five times in the final quarter.
"That's been our plague throughout the year," Sanders said.
Gilbert spent part of the early season trying to find the right combinations of players and to determine where they fit into the playing rotation. Although that type of depth can cause headaches for a coach, it paid dividends against a Temple team that was without primary inside threat Terris Goodwin, who is out for the rest of the season after a knee injury.
The Lady Tigers showed they can win -- at least against some teams in 12-5A -- without getting a big offensive game from junior center Karla Gilbert. Hampered by foul troubles, Gilbert finished with nine points and 13 rebounds. Carter led Consol with 14 points and Tucker added 11. Adeyemi and Chambers scored eight points each.
Consol missed 9 of 11 shots and Temple missed 19 of 23 during an ugly first quarter that ended at 8-8. The Lady Tigers built a 29-24 halftime lead by dominating the backboards in the second period, winning the rebounding battle 13-8 with nine offensive boards and several second-chance points.
"With them having a new coaching staff here, we didn't know what to expect," coach Gilbert said. "That was most of why the turnovers were happening and we weren't getting our shots off."
Senior forward Shantae Hewins led the Tem-Cats with 21 points despite missing 5 of 7 free throws.
Consol 68, Temple 50
(Numbers indicate field goals, free throws, fouls and points)
CONSOL (7-7, 2-0) -- Kaitlyn Goodman 0 0-0 1 0; Tierra Tucker 5 1-2 2 11; Kara Mason 0 2-5 3 2; Meg Knight 0 2-2 3 2; Consolo Palmer 3 0-0 1 6; Karrian Chambers 4 0-2 2 8; Kiera Scott 0 2-6 1 2; Rachel Carter 5 1-2 2 14; Dallas Lewis 0 0-0 1 0; Karla Gilbert 4 1-2 4 9; Danyetta Williams 1 4-9 4 6; Ashley Adeyemi 1 6-8 3 8. Totals: 23 19-38 27 68.
TEMPLE (8-8, 0-2) -- Ali Pickens 2 0-1 1 4; Alisha Mosley 2 2-4 3 7; Destiny Bell 1 2-4 3 4; Jourdan Truesdale 2 0-2 2 5; Shantae Hewins 9 2-7 3 21; Loryn Goodwin 0 0-2 5 0; Maya Williams 0 1-2 3 1; Faith Thompson 1 2-2 0 4; Amanda Sullivan 0 0-0 3 0; Ferniqua Johnson 1 2-6 1 4; Ashley Caldera 0 0-0 1 0. Totals: 18 12-30 25 50.
Consol 8 21 21 18 -- 68
Temple 8 16 17 9 -- 50
Field goals -- Consol 23-60; Temple 18-64.
Rebounds -- Consol 59, Temple 46.
Turnovers -- Consol 24, Temple 22.
JV -- Consol 59, Temple 27. AMC: Javan Booker 11, Marika Henderson 10, Ann Inovejas 10.
