by Malcolm Butler
Life without Taylor Martinez.
That is what the Cedar Creek Lady Cougars are trying to figure out.
Part of that new world occurred Saturday when the Lady Cougars fell 54-34 to Class 5A Neville at the Origin Bank Classic held at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Martinez, the senior point guard for Creek, suffered a season-ending knee injury during a tournament at St. Thomas More just over a week ago. And the loss has been felt ever since with Creek dropping three straight games.
“I told our kids (after the game) that this is a tough schedule,” said head coach Katie Hall, whose team has played five higher classification opponents thus far. “It’s going to be ugly right now. We are just going to need some time to figure things out.
“We are going to eventually be fine. We were ugly at this time last year. And it was ugly two years ago during this time. We are just going to have to get through it.”
Creek (1-4), who advanced to the Select School Division IV state title game a year ago and who entered this season as one of the favorites to possibly return, found itself facing an athletic, speedy Neville Tiger team Saturday. Neville found a way to put consistent pressure on the ball while also slowing down Cedar Creek post player Ryan Avery for much of the game with double and triple teams and match-up zones.
It worked.
The Lady Cougars stayed close for the opening eight minutes, trailing just 13-11 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a pair of buckets by junior Alivia Lee and a three-pointer from senior Caroline James. Creek remained within striking distance early in the second quarter as a Ryan layup with 6:10 in the frame tied it at 15-15 and a Kennedy Hall layup less than a minute later knotted it again, 17-17.
However, Neville used a 10-0 run over the next five minutes, capitalizing on turnovers by the Lady Cougars.
“I’m not down on us,” said Hall. “I’m not frustrated with us. It’s just going to take some time to figure it out. We haven’t had a chance to really practice much without Taylor. We need some time in the gym to rep it out.”
With the loss of Martinez, James and junior Mary Grace Hawkins will be looked upon to pick up the bulk of the point guard responsibilities moving forward.
“They are both going to have to get used to a different role,” said Hall. “They are very capable. It may not play to their strengths, but we are adapting. They are just going to have to keep working through the muck.”
The third quarter saw Neville pull away as the Tigers opened on a 9-0 run to extend it’s 27-19 halftime lead out to 36-19 with 5:20 to play in the stanza. A Hall field goal stopped the run but then Neville answered with a quick 6-0 run to build a 42-21 lead.
“I honestly think we are still processing everything,” said Hall. “We need some time as a team. I know we play again Monday. I feel like we need to talk about it and get all of our feelings and thoughts out. This is not do or die right now. Is it what we want? No.
“It’s adversity. And our goals and our standards don’t change. The path may look different, but the destination is still the same.”
Ryan led Creek with 12 points while Lee added seven.
