The Pampa Lady Harvesters (5-9, 0-1) opened District play on Tuesday when they hosted the Canyon Lady Eagles at McNeely Fieldhouse.
The Lady Eagles came out on the winning side to start District 1-0 with the 58-44 win.
“I thought we played well against Canyon,” Head Coach Clint Watson said. “Canyon is ranked No. 3 right now. Our girls battled for a full 32 minutes and left it all on the court. I know we didn’t win, but I am so proud of their efforts. The only difference in that game was the 2nd quarter. We missed a few open shots. We got good looks, but the ball just didn’t go through the hoop. Canyon kind of got hot and outscored us 16-4 in the quarter. We played good defense, we rebounded well, and we only committed 14 turnovers (forced Canyon into 16 turnovers).”
Senior Berlin Bartlett led the team in scoring with 21 points with five threes; Freshman Emmy Boutsamaly had seven points with a three points; Freshman Brooklyn Warren had five points with a three; Senior Cambree Dyer had four points; Sophomore MaKenna Kotara had four points after going 4-4 from the free throw line; Senior Briley Daniels had three points and went 1-2 in free throws.
Between Warren’s performance in the tournament over the weekend and Boutsamaly having seven points Tuesday, Watson is proud to see his young players, like Boutsamaly, flourishing.
“Emmy has really stepped up and has proven to be a knock-down shooter,” Watson said. “She is also really good about reading the defense and making the right decision.
“Sometimes it’s hard to remember that she is only a freshman. With her quickness and IQ, it also allows us to play pressure man-to-man defense more efficiently. Emmy always has a smile on her face and is willing to do whatever she needs to in order for the Lady Harvesters to be successful.”
The Lady Harvesters continue District play on Friday when they travel to West Plains.
“It’ll sound cliché again, but just take it one play at a time,” Watson said. “We have to battle for a full 32 minutes again. We’ve been watching hours of film. Taking away what we see from film, the last couple of days of practice we have been working on our rotations defensively.
“We need to be precise on our rotations for both our full-court defense and half-court defense. We also have been adding in new wrinkles offensively.”
