Journalism freshman Kendra Rainey of Palo Alto celebrates after sinking the winning free throw in the last seconds of Wednesday’s game against the Lady Rangers in Gym 1 of Candler. Rainey scored 25 points in the 62-61 victory. Photo by E. David Guel
The Lady Rangers suffered their fifth loss of the season.
By Jose Arredondo
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The Palo Alto Palominos escaped with a 62-61 road victory Nov. 19 in Gym 1 of Candler.
Communications sophomore Kendra Rainey’s 25 points, nine rebounds and game-winning free throw led the Palominos.
“I rebounded more, and I limited my turnovers,” Rainey said. “It was a team effort and we got the victory.”
Kinesiology freshman Shannon Villanueva led the Rangers with 16 points and seven rebounds. She scored 13 of her 16 points in the second half of the game.
“Well, my performance … I felt like I was lacking an intensity and hustle, and it took me a while to heat up,” Villanueva said.
The Rangers and Palominos each snatched a team high of 35 rebounds.
The Rangers committed 25 turnovers and forced 17. Neither team scored off each other’s turnovers. The Rangers converted on 20 percent of turnovers, and the Palominos executed on only 10 percent of turnovers.
The Rangers out-rebounded the Palominos in the first half 22-18; however, the Palominos edged the Rangers for the game when they usurped 35 rebounds against the Rangers’ 34.
The Rangers led for the majority of the first half. At halftime they led 26-25 after they scored on a put-back layup at the buzzer.
The momentum shifted in the Palominos’ favor when they went on an 8-2 run to start the second half.
With two minutes remaining in the half, the Palominos possessed a 7-point lead, 60-53.
The Rangers pulled a couple of tricks out of their 10-gallon hats when they scored 8 points to give them the lead, 61-60, with 28.5 seconds left.
The following possession would miss their 3-point attempt, and Rangers guard Bea Garcia would grab the rebound. The Palominos were forced to foul Garcia with 5.7 seconds left in play.
Garcia was granted two free throws but missed both.
Palominos guard Rainey pushed the ball down the court and she drew a foul beyond the 3-point line with 1.1 seconds left in the game.
Rainey was given three free throws. She drained the first two and missed the last. The Palominos edged the Rangers 62-61.
“I was extremely nervous at the free throw line,” Rainey said. “I’ve played basketball my entire life, and I have never been under so much pressure; I was fortunate enough to make two of them.”
The 1-5 Rangers are seeking to capture their second win of the season. They will get the opportunity at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 at Southwest Texas Junior College.
