Newly-ranked Lady Panthers win Monday matinee against Normangee

BURTON - The newly-ranked Burton Lady Panthers added another victory to their undefeated record on Monday in a morning matinee.

No. 21 Burton pulled away from Normangee in a 53-26 win on its home floor to earn its 10th straight win to start the season.

During the game, the Lady Panthers earned their ranking from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ latest Class 2A poll. Burton assistant coach Lauren Hodde said it is the program’s first state ranking at least 25 years.

For Burton head coach Chris Taplin, though, Monday was another chance to get better without worrying about rankings or even his team’s unbeaten start.

“Every game is a lesson and we do not take anybody lightly,” he said. “We still focus because we know anybody can beat you at any given day, so we try to stay focused and stay locked in.”

Burton (10-0) led wire to wire against Normangee thanks to two 10-0 runs in the first half.

Normangee got to within three points after the Lady Panthers began the game on a 10-point spurt, but Burton closed the half with another 10-0 run to take a 26-13 lead into halftime.

Freshman guard Mya Rodriguez began the run with an interior basket with 4:03 to play, giving Burton an 18-13 cushion.

Fellow freshman Harper Hodde starred in the run with six points, including two layups off of Normangee turnovers. She also connected on a pair of free throws with 1:13 to go.

Junior guard Valerie Hernandez added the final points of the half with a basket with nine seconds left.

Hodde added to the run with another basket on Burton’s second possession of the third quarter, pushing its edge to 12 points.

However, scoring slowed in the third period. Senior guard Aerynn Huntsman provided Burton’s only basket of the quarter with a layup through contact. She completed the 3-point play at the free throw line.

Hodde also made one of two at the line in the period after being fouled.

Burton struggled through the period offensively with five turnovers and several interior misses, including on layups next to the basket.

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“Missing fundamental layups, they do not give you energy. They take energy,” Taplin said. “When you are missing those kinds of shots, it is kind of hard to find energy and keep playing, but the girls kept playing, kept working.”

The Lady Panthers did not lose their leading position, though, thanks to stiff defense. Burton forced six turnovers in the period and kept Normangee off the board for the quarter’s final 3:28.

“They know in order for us to win basketball games, we got to be sharp on defense,” Taplin said. “We did a pretty good job of being aggressive and getting them in transition, so I think we know that is what we lean on most is our defense.”

Burton found more offensive life in the final period. The Lady Panthers started the period on a 15-3 run to earn their largest lead of the game at 47-19 with 3:16 to play.

Burton earned five layups in the run, including two from Huntsman as well as one from Hernandez, Hodde and Amya Nickerson. Hernandez also drained a 3-pointer for the team’s only deep make of the game.

Hernandez led Burton with seven fourth-quarter points, comprising the majority of her nine points. She also found her teammates across the court throughout the game to spearhead her team’s fastbreak possessions.

Some of those passes led to turnovers rather than open layups. However, she said …

“If you do not make the pass, you are never going to know if you can hit it,” Hernandez said. “I have noticed, like putting the pass in your teammates’ hand, they are getting used to it. We are doing good.”

Two of her teammates, Hodde and Huntsman, shared the team lead with 11 points. Sophomore guard Leilah Ellis added eight points. Rodriguez earned six points with all of them coming in the first half. Nickerson added four points in the final period.

Normangee got a pair of layups and three free throws in the final three minutes to end on 26 points. But the Lady Panthers were pleased to hold an opponent to below 30 points for a second time this year.

“I think we gained more confidence holding a team to that low of a number,” Hernandez said. “We see that and we see that our press is really good and that just makes us want to work even harder and get to our assignments on the press.”

Burton continued play on Saturday against Hempstead before turning its attention to a 5 p.m. Tuesday road game at Granger.

“I think we can improve a lot,” Hernandez said. “We were not really in it as a whole team (today), but we are definitely going to bounce back and get Hempstead, hopefully by an even bigger score than that.”