The Lindale Lady Eagles are off to a perfect start this season, but Tuesday night’s game got a little too close for comfort at the end.
Lindale beat Whitehouse 43-37 at home on Nov. 10, giving the Lady Eagles their second straight win to open the season.
A Big Lead, Then a Nervous Finish
For three quarters, this one looked like a blowout. Lindale opened the game on an 8-1 run and led 12-7 after the first quarter. In the third quarter, a 13-1 burst pushed the lead to 36-13.
Lindale took a 40-20 lead into the fourth quarter after Whitehouse hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. Then the Lady Wildcats caught fire.
Whitehouse outscored Lindale 17-3 in the final period and cut the gap to a single possession in the closing seconds. A free throw with 24 seconds left and a late stop helped Lindale run out the clock and hold on.
The Lindale coach admitted afterward that the team got nervous late. The players kept working, though, and the win counted just the same.
Who Stepped Up
Hernandez led Lindale with 15 points and seven rebounds, and she and Hutchens scored all of the team’s points during the opening run that set the tone.
What’s Next
Lindale (2-0) stays home for its next game, against Chapel Hill. If the Lady Eagles can play four full quarters the way they played the first three against Whitehouse, they could be one of the teams to watch in East Texas this winter.