Snyder girls win District 5-4A opener

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  • Snyder’s Nicole Martinez drove through the Big Spring defense in Friday’s 49-38 win.
    Snyder’s Nicole Martinez drove through the Big Spring defense in Friday’s 49-38 win.
  • Snyder’s Hayley Humphrey (32) worked to get into position to receive a pass.
    Snyder’s Hayley Humphrey (32) worked to get into position to receive a pass.
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BIG SPRING — Natalee James answered the call in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 of her game-high 22 points as the Snyder Lady Tigers defeated Big Spring 49-38 in the District 5-4A basketball opener Friday.
Snyder led 27-24 going into the final quarter. Alexis Starr, who had 17 points for Big Spring, tied the game at 27-27 with her fifth 3-pointer of the game. James scored 10 points over the next two minutes, including three 3-pointers.
The Lady Tigers increased their lead to double digits midway through the quarter and pulled away.
“I had confidence in my shot, but I could not have did any of it without the help of my teammates,” James said. “They set everything up for me. I wanted to do my best and help the team like they helped me. We knew going into the fourth quarter it was crunch time and it was now or never. Big Spring got tired in the fourth quarter and committed a lot of careless fouls. We played smarter at the end of the game.”
Head coach T’Leah Eicke said she was not surprised with how her team responded.
“It was nerves in the first half,” Eicke said. “Most of the players played Big Spring since the seventh grade and knew each other. I knew it was going to be a physical game. We had to keep our emotions in check and did. We played well, especially in the fourth quarter. Natalee needs to play the entire game like she did in the fourth quarter. Kamiah (Davis) can do the same thing, but we need to keep her out of foul trouble early in the game.”
The game was tied twice — 2-2 and 27-27 — and Snyder trailed once, 8-6 midway through the first quarter when Starr made a 3-pointer. The Lady Tigers regained control by outscoring Big Spring 6-1 over the next three minutes and took a 12-9 lead into the second quarter.
Snyder maintained the advantage and led 21-18 at halftime and 27-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Eicke said a balanced lineup played a big part in winning, with Nicole Martinez scoring nine points. Maycee Herrington came off the bench and had eight points.
“Nicole is a good shooter,” Eicke said. “We have aggressive posts and other bench players that came into the game and played well. Abi Reyes and Melanie Martinez contributed and the other players were a part of it too because they got us ready in practice for this game. Maycee works hard and would run through the wall if you asked her to. She is a fighter and that was the country girl coming from her.”
Snyder won its 14th game of the season, surpassing last year’s 13 wins. James said this was only the beginning.
“We wanted to win this game bad and Big Spring is one of the best teams in the district,” she said. “We want to win the district championship this season. Road games are tougher without the home crowd. This was a big win and will boost our confidence for home games.”
Eicke said one of few negatives came at the free-throw line (9-of-28), but she liked how her team, despite Big Spring’s size advantage, battled for rebounds.
“We need to shoot free throws better,” she said. “We have been working on blocking out for rebounds. We had to mix up our defenses from man-to-man and zone because Big Spring was ready for us.”
After Tuesday’s open date, Snyder will play at Sweetwater before its next home game against Midland Greenwood on Jan. 15.
“It’s good to win a road game. We will have a week to get ready for Sweetwater. Greenwood is a solid team. This is a tough district, but we can get the job done and accomplish what we want to do.”
Snyder    12    9    6    22—49
Big Spring    9    9    6    14—38
Snyder scorers — Natalee James 22, Nicole Martinez 9, Maycee Herrington 8, Kamiah Davis 4, Melanie Martinez 3, Hayley Humphrey 3.
Big Spring scorers — Alexis Starr 17, Kayleigh Penny 6, Aissa Cervantes 5, Logan Terrazas 3, Tristan Smith 3, Jacqueline Belew 2, Amber Martinez 2.
JV
The Snyder JV defeated Big Spring, 38-18. Jerri Villarreal and Erin Crane each scored eight points.
Snyder scorers — Jerri Villarreal 8, Erin Crane 8, Zalyn Jaramillo 6, Taryn Nobles 6, Shelby Salinas 2, Katie Deleora 2, Briana Richburg 2, Averrie Johnson 2, Kirsten Luera 2.