The buzzer sounded on the Aubrey Lady Chaparrals basketball season, with the Lady Chaps falling to the Hillsboro Lady Eagles 56-38 on Feb. 20.
The two squads met at Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, where the Lady Eagles outmaneuvered the Lady Chaps to take the area round win.
“We played hard and left all our effort out on that floor,” said Nicole Black, Aubrey head girls basketball coach. “Our shots didn’t fall, and our defense wasn’t quite as sharp. [Hillsboro] played hard, their shots fell, and it was just their night and not ours. That was a good team that beat us, so we have nothing to be upset about.”
Aubrey kept things close in the first quarter, with the higher-seeded Hillsboro team taking a slim 17-13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Eagles widened the gap to an 8-point lead at the half, outscoring the Lady Chaps 12-8 in the second quarter and taking a 29-21 lead.
The two teams continued to pour on the points in the third quarter, with Hillsboro extending its lead to 10 points, 39-29, as the game entered the fourth quarter.
The Lady Eagles took off in the fourth quarter, closing the contest with a 17-9 scoring run to take the 56-38 win.
“I wish her turnovers would have been a little cleaner, and I wish our shots would’ve fallen a little bit better, but I have nothing but pride for my girls,” Black said. “I have nothing but love and overwhelming pride in what they did this season.”
Jaeda Wade led Aubrey with 26 points, followed by Addy Cagle, who scored 8 points.
Black spoke highly of the Lady Chaps senior leadership.
“[They] mean everything to me, and they gave me everything from the last buzzer a year ago to the last buzzer this year, and they have set the bar so high for everybody else coming in after them that this program’s never going to be the same,” she said.
Lastly, Black thanked everyone that helped make the Lady Chaps’ season special.
“I want to thank my husband, [Jeremy Black], who sat and watched film and listened to me think out loud and game plan; my parents, [Jane and Dennis Holt], who are at almost every game; and the Aubrey community as a whole,” she said. “They show up, they love us, and I’m very appreciative of this community.”
