STAFF REPORTS
COLLEGE STATION — Unfortunately for St. Joseph Academy, it could not match the height of Addison Trinity Christian.
The Lady Bloodhounds weren’t able to contain the Lady Trojans in the paint and lost 69-44 during the TAPPS girls basketball playoff game Friday night.
“We needed about four or five inches on everyone of our players,” St. Joseph coach Cynthia Martinez said. “We couldn’t compete with their height, they were pretty tall.”
Diana Garcia led St. Joseph with 18 points and Valeria Tapia finished with 10 points.
St. Joseph kept the game close early on, but a few players got into foul trouble. Addison Trinity Christian took advantage, taking a double-digit lead in the first half.
The Lady Bloodhounds tried to press on defense to help cut the deficit but didn’t recover in the second half.
On the positive side, St. Joseph will have almost the same team back next season. The Lady Bloodhounds lose one senior, but return every starter from this year’s squad.
“We had a great season, but we’re disappointed,” Martinez said. “But the team that was on the floor (Friday) will be on the floor next season, so that’s pretty exciting.”
ADDISON TRINITY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 52, ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY 29: The Bloodhounds bowed out in the first round of the TAPPS regional tournament with a loss to the Trojans.
“Defensively, we did as good as I thought we were going to do,” St. Joseph coach Sam Lucio said. “Offensively, we were cold all day long. We just had a bad shooting night.”
The first quarter was back and forth, but the Bloodhounds found themselves down 11 at halftime. Lucio said St. Joseph played good defense during the third quarter but didn’t knock down enough shots.
Rodolfo Cabido, who found himself in foul trouble four minutes in the third quarter and had to sit for most of the second half, finished the game with 12 points. Carlos Esteve scored seven points.
“I was proud of the way we played,” Lucio said. “We played hard all game long against one of the best teams. The effort was there. Offensively, it was a struggle.”
Lucio said there are plenty of positives going into next season. Three starters — Cabido, Jorge Villarreal and Bernie De La Garza — will return next season, and Lucio expects to have key contributor Kai Money, who was hurt for the final stretch of the season, back as well.