Throughout her 15 seasons as Brownwood Lady Lions head basketball coach, defense has been the staple for all of Heather Hohertz’s squads. That was no different Tuesday night as the Lady Lions earned their first District 6-4A victory of the season – and 300th win under Hohertz’s tutelage – by a 44-18 count over the Mineral Wells Lady Rams in front of the home crowd at Warren Gym.
“This is special, but we were focused on getting to 1-1 in district and this was a big one at home that we needed to get,” said Hohertz, whose record at Brownwood High is now 300-175 as she guided the program to its first postseason berth, district championship and regional tournament appearance during her tenure. “That’s what I wanted the team to focus on. If 300 came it came, but it’s tribute to the players I have now and the players that came before them. That’s who got 300 wins. I want to have a successful season and enjoy this team because they’re such fun to be around and fun to coach. That’s my main goal.”
The Lady Lions surrendered just five points in each of the first three periods, and only three points in the fourth quarter to yield their lowest point total of the season – one less than in a 57-19 victory over Dublin back on Nov. 30. Mineral Wells was coming off a 30-28 loss to Stephenville in its 6-4A opener on Friday.
“I watched about five games to prepare for this and I told the girls as long as we could score, get tips on balls, get out and run in transition which we’re really good at, we were going to be hard to stop,” Hohertz said. “Our defense took away space with our hands and our feet tonight, and without someone on the block to score for them I thought they could struggle. We took care of business in the right way.”
The offensive effort was led by sophomore point guard Icess Hall, who poured in 22 points.
“She’s a special kid and had a tremendous performance,” Hohertz said of Hall. “She was 4 of 4 on two-pointers, 1 of 2 on three-pointers and 11 of 12 on free throws. She had a tremendous game for us and stepped up when we needed points.”
Hannah Deen contributed nine points trailed by Miranda Northcutt and Kimber Green with six apiece, and Nayla Hall with one point.
The Lady Lions – who led 8-5 after one quarter, 26-10 at halftime, and 35-15 through three frames – shot 34 percent (12 of 35) from the floor, 15 percent (2 of 13) on three-pointers, and 75 percent (18 of 24) at the free throw line. Brownwood also pulled down 29 rebounds, recorded 11 steals and turned over the ball just 12 times.
Brownwood (17-9, 1-1) is back in District 6-4A action at 5:45 p.m. Friday as it ventures to Graham seeking a winning streak against league competition.