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Lady Feet cruise in opener

By WILL CARTER ~ Sports Writer
Posted 11/16/22

BELL BUCKLE — Opening the new season in dominant fashion, the Webb Lady Feet cruised to a 69-28 victory over the visiting Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Hawks on Monday night. The Lady feet …

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Lady Feet cruise in opener

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BELL BUCKLE — Opening the new season in dominant fashion, the Webb Lady Feet cruised to a 69-28 victory over the visiting Hamilton Heights Christian Academy Hawks on Monday night.
The Lady feet (1-0) started the game on a 12-0 run before the Hawks (1-1) were able to score their first basket with two minutes and 57 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Webb never looked back. 
“I was proud of how hard everyone played and how they got after it,” Webb head coach Matt Shewmake said. 
“We need to shoot a little bit better, but it was overall a good team effort.”
Led by senior Angelica Velez’ five first quarter points and fellow senior Bree Robinson’s four, eight total Lady Feet players contributed to a 21-5 first quarter advantage.
Showing no signs of letting up, Webb went on a 10-2 run in the first five minutes of the second frame to take a 31-7 lead.
Robinson added four more points to her total in the quarter while junior Daria Biriyk contributed six. 
Expectations are high for Robinson and Velez this season, but Shewmake is confident in their abilities to spearhead Webb’s attack. 
“They’re the best guard combo in the country,” he said. “Tip to buzzer, they play 100 miles per hour.”
“They’ll be everyone’s problem for the rest of the season.”
At the halftime break, the Lady Feet led 39-14 after the Hawks held them to eight points in the final three minutes of the half while scoring seven of their own. 
But it was all Webb in the third quarter as they reached another gear on their way to a 26-7 frame, led by Velez’s eight. 
Robinson and Velez led all scorers with 13 points each. 
While both guards are vital to the Lady Feet’s success, Shewmake looks towards Velez to lead the charge. 
“She’s (Velez) probably the most important piece that we have,” he said. 
“She has a certain tenacity to her on defense and handles the tempo on offense. She gets after people, and does it every night.”
The game reached a running clock in the final frame and Webb walked away with a dominant win where 10 total players contributed on the scoreboard. 
But it wasn’t by accident as Shewmake expects to play deep into his bench night in and night out. 
“The depth that we have helps us to be able to play with the pace that we have,” he said.
“A lot of teams have six or seven players, but we have 10 or 11. We’re going to get deep into our bench and score points.”
Last season, the Lady Feet coasted to a 15-0 record in Div. II-A play, and also had no issues in the state tournament as they hoisted the state championship trophy for the second consecutive year. 
Being the favorites to win it all again this year, Shewmake believes his team has improved from top-to-bottom. 
“I think we can be better than we were last year,” he said. 
“(Aalyah) Del Rosario is the stable anchor in the middle and our guards are supposed to protect her. They did that last year, and I expect them to do that this year as well.”
“We have a better group of guards and shooters this year with Bre’Aria Cannon and Daria Biriyk coming on as well.”
Even with an improved squad as a whole and the confidence he has in them, Shewmake wants them to stay focused on their goals as a group and not “worry about more.”
“Pat Riley says we have to worry about the disease of more,” he said.
“Everybody just wants more. We just have to keep our eyes on our team goals, and trust that process.”
Webb will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 19th against Lalumiere (IN.) at 6 p.m. in Bell Buckle. 

Webb 21 18 26 4 – 69
Hamilton 5 9 7 7 – 28 

Webb: Angelica Velez 13, Bree Robinson 13, TaTianna Stovall 12, Daria Biriyk 6, Aurora Sanchez-Almon 6, Aalyah Del Rosario 6, Bre’Aria Cannon 4, Makenzi Hale 3, Kora Johnson 2, Rhema Collins 2. 
3-point goals: Webb (3): Angelica Velez, Aalyah Del Roasario, Makenzi Hale. 
Halftime score: Webb 39, Hamilton 14.