Rockets pass early season test
Mabry’s 20 points and 10 rebounds key victory over Rattlers
The Judson Rockets gathered in a celebratory circle on their home court shortly after defeating Reagan 48-39 on Tuesday night.
There was nothing at stake in the high-profile non-district contest, but there was plenty of excitement.
For the top-ranked Rockets, it was a chance to fine-tune against a talented Reagan team that’s No. 3 in this week’s ExpressNews rankings.
Despite shooting struggles on both sides, it was a success for Judson, which improved to 7-0.
“This is huge,” Rutgersbound senior guard Kierra Sanderlin said. “Reagan is tops in the city, and just to beat them feels great.”
Judson junior forward Amira Mabry led all scorers with 20 points. She also had a teambest 10 rebounds.
“This gives us a lot of confidence, and it was one of our goals for the season,” Mabry said. “This will help us get to where we want to be in March.”
The Rockets are no strangers to playing in March, when the UIL state tournament is contested. The Rockets have claimed the past four Region IV-6A championships and won it all in 2018.
Reagan (5-2) could very well stand in their way later this season.
The Rattlers were led by 6-3 sophomore Baylor pledge Samantha Wagner’s 14 points. Sixfoot-four junior Christeen Iwuala had 10 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. Both switch between the guard spots and the post.
Sanderlin, who scored eight points, said the difference in Tuesday’s game was the Rockets’ ability to push the ball.
“They had taller guards than us, so we had to beat them on the perimeter and in transition,” Sanderlin said.
The perimeter game was off for both teams. The Rockets
made just 2 of 10 from the 3point arc, while Reagan sank 3 of 12.
They also struggled with shooting overall. Judson made 20 of 52 from the field (38 percent) and Reagan was 13 of 48 (27 percent). The Rattlers sank 10 of 22 free throws, while Judson made 6 of 9.
Judson never trailed and never led by fewer than four points after halftime.
The Rockets went on a 16-6 run in the second half to take their biggest lead, 42-28, with 3:13 to play on a Sanderlin jumper. The Rattlers cut it to as close as 43-37 on a put-back by Iwuala with 36 seconds left.
“We knew we had to come in here hard, and I feel we took some breaks off,” Mabry said. “But come fourth quarter we put the gas on and executed.”
The Rockets led 15-7 after one quarter after Mabry poured in nine points. The 6-0 junior forward scored five points in the final 35 seconds as part of a 7-0 run. She completed a 3-point play with :03 left.
The Rockets expanded their lead to 21-11 after Sanderlin’s jumper at the 5:19 mark of the second quarter.
Reagan chipped away and pulled to within 21-17 when Iwuala made one of two free throws with 2:56 left.
Judson senior Kiyonna Botello drained a 3-pointer from about 22 feet, followed by a 3 from Reagan’s Miranda Noack from the baseline in the final 34 seconds, giving Judson a 24-20 halftime lead.