Published: January 19, 2008 12:27 am      

Grandview continues winning streak with Keene victory

KEENE — The Grandview Lady Zebras continued their domination of District 11-2A with a 52-43 win over Keene on Friday night to remain in first place with a 7-1 record.

Grandview (19-7) took control of the contest with a 20-7 run in the second quarter.

Misty Mayse led the Lady Zebras during the period, scoring seven of her team-high 16 points as Grandview turned a 10-10 tie into a 30-17 lead at the break.

“We felt like we had a mismatch on her, so we wanted to get her the ball,” Grandview head coach Jeri Larrison said of Mayse. “If they allow her to shoot, she shoots. If they allow her to take it to the hole, she takes it to the hole.”

Keene (18-11, 3-5) scored the first five points of the second half on a bucket by Pearl Brown and a 3-pointer by Lace Clark, cutting the deficit to 30-22.

The Lady Chargers got as close as seven three other times in the period, but the Lady Zebras ended the frame with a 42-29 advantage.

“I just think not having the same group of kids game in and game out is hard,” Keene head coach Michelle Smiley-Connelly said. “I don’t have the same kids on Tuesday that I have on Friday. We need some consistency and we’ve got to block out. That was a big difference in the game today and those are the things that are hurting us.”

Keene outscored Grandview 14-10 in the fourth, as the Lady Zebras held on for the victory.

Sam Wallace, who led Grandview with 18 points against Itasca on Tuesday, finished with eight points on Friday night.

Nicki Johnson and Rachel Macklin each contributed seven points.

“I talked to the Maypearl coach the other day and he said if you stop one person the others will step up,” Larrison said. “I really like that because we’re balanced. If they’re going to shut down one person, that’s fine. We’ve got seven others that will step up.”

Brown led Keene with 16 points and Sasha Lehtinen had 12. Clark finished with 11.

Though her team dropped its second straight contest, Smiley-Connelly said the Lady Chargers still have a shot at the postseason.

“We have to try to win each one that we can and hope by some miracle we pull it off and get to the playoffs,” Smiley-Connelly said. “But we’re going to need some help.”

Grandview hosts Rio Vista and Keene travels to Hico on Tuesday.