Lady Bison score wins on Opening Night

“Not on my shift!” Freshman Kylan Ferguson blocks a Riesel player’s shot -- with authority! Van’Go’photo This time last year, the Lady Bison began the season with a loss to no-volleyball Riesel, a former district opponent that was already in mid-season form when the season began. Tuesday night was a different story. Both Buffalo teams picked up lopsided victories over the Lady Indians to set the stage for the 2009-2010 campaign.

Action began with the junior varsity playing shut-out defense for the first six minutes to register a 14-0 quarter. Riesel owned the second quarter 8-2, but Buffalo led 16-8 at the half. The Lady Bison shut down the Lady Indians again in the third quarter while bucketing seven points. An 8-2 fourth quarter gave Buffalo a 31-10 victory.

Raven Lott exploded for 12 first quarter points before rolling in 22 for the game to lead all scorers. Emily Grissett netted six points, Haley Ellison dropped in a basket and Courtney Cun JV Lady Bison Raven Lott is a force to be contended with, posting double-digits in the first games of the season. Van’Go’photoningham hit a free throw.

The varsity outscored the Lady Indians in every quarter to earn a 47-16 victory. Hitting double digits in every quarter but one, Buffalo, under the direction of head Coach Ron Shaw, employed a kamikaze substitution strategy utilizing ten players. The always-fresh Lady Bison wore Riesel down and forced multiple turnovers throughout the night.

Sophomore Latisha Jackson squeezed out three two's, three three's and a pair of free throws to lead the Lady Bison with 17 points. Freshman Kylan Ferguson netted eleven points while Kelsey Canady managed eight. Meredith Shaw and Reagan Reach each bucketed four. Lindsey McGill connected on a short jump shot, and Erica Jones hit a free throw.

Buffalo Splits With Westwood

Friday night's contests in Westwood were definitely learning experiences for the Lady Bison. The junior varsity staged a come-from-behind victory that brought fans to their feet in the final seconds of the contest. The varsity stayed close for three quarters before a much more physical Westwood team pulled away for a win.

The Lady PanthCourtney Cunningham takes the ball into the paint for the J Lady Bison. Van’Go’photoers used an aggressive press to frustrate the JV Lady Bison in the early going. After running through opponents in the first game and scrimmage, Buffalo met a squad equal in speed and style. The Lady Bison eased ahead after the first quarter 7-6, but Westwood held the lead by half, 15-13. Buffalo struggled offensively in the third and Westwood began to pull away. The Lady Panthers built up a 13-point lead during the fourth and seemed to be in control, but the Lady Bison had other plans. Buffalo came up with several steals and defensive stops to get back in the game and close the gap. Emily Grissett and Raven Lott drained back-to-back three point shots, and Courtney Cunningham came up with two shorter shots to lead the charge. With thirty seconds to play, Buffalo went up for the first time in the second half. They held on to win 33-31.

Lott finished with 15 points to lead the Lady Bison. Cunningham and Grissett combined for another 15. Zelneisha Lockett managed a field goal while Ana Lopez tacked on a fourth quarter free throw.

The Lady Bison won the middle two quarters in the varsity contest. Unfortunately, all four quarters count, and when totaled up, the Lady Panthers had the advantage 55-45. In a very physical contest that had both teams in double bonus with two minutes to go in the first half, Buffalo fought for footing.

Westwood's press caused eleven Lady Bison turnovers in the first quarter as the home team took a 15-7 lead. Buffalo battled back, scoring layups after adjusting to the press. The Lady Bison took a one point lead late in the second quarter, but a turnover provided Westwood a layup at the buzzer for a 26-25 halftime score.

Action see-sawed in the third period as the teams traded baskets butWestwood scored one extra field goal to lead 43-40, going into the fourth stanza. Fatigue and experience factored heavily in the last eight minutes as Westwood pulled away with a 55-45 victory. The story showed up in the turnover column as Buffalo committed six in the final eight minutes.

Senior Kaila Grissett led the Lady Bison with thirteen points. Kylan Ferguson also reached double digits with eleven. Lindsey McGill, with a big third quarter performance, finished with nine points. Kelsey Canady scored six points while Meredith Shaw contributed three. Lauren Chambers dropped in two, and Read Read added one.

“Games like these are valuable because they provide better experience than you can recreate in practice,” Coach Ron Shaw said. “The pass back to trail is always open in practice, but Westwood took that option away. We had to adjust, and we did. Just playing is a win for us right now.”

The Lady Bison will host Mexia on Tuesday. The junior varsity will compete in the Groesbeck Tournament on Thursday and Saturday. The varsity contest is still undecided for Friday.