The Mineola Lady Jackets put a gem of a performance together last Tuesday as they bested the fourth-ranked 3A team in the state – the Lady Tigers of Commerce – 58-49, in front of a home Mineola crowd.  The Lady Jackets were prepared, used sound tactics and simply wanted the ball more than the favored Lady Tigers. 

One fundamental principle of basketball is that a height advantage is significant. When a team is shorter at each position than their opposite numbers, it normally determines the outcome. Mineola shaped this disadvantage into an advantage by being quicker, more aggressive and playing smarter basketball. 

The Mineola press put Commerce under pressure from the initial whistle. After a dominating first couple of minutes, Commerce called a time out. Everyone in the gym heard the instructions shouted in the Commerce huddle at the time-out. 

The Lady Tigers did respond and scored the last four points of the quarter to go up 8-6.

Jayla Jackson opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer. The turnovers began to even out between the two teams, and Commerce started to take the ball to the hoop. 

When the Lady Tigers went up 13-11, Coach Alan Wilson signaled for a time-out. When play resumed, Tanner Hartzog and Macy Fischer combined for six free throws. Two of Fischer’s points came when she shot a technical foul opportunity courtesy of the Commerce head coach.

Kyra Jackson scored on a nice backdoor slip, and the Lady Jackets were on a full-fledged run. She added a pair of free throws, and Mylee Fischer scored on an offensive rebound put-back. 

Paris Spigner scored on a very nice assist from Carmen Carrasco, and the Lady Jackets had built a 25-17 lead. It was a 14-4 run, and Commerce appeared shocked.  

The Lady Tigers leveraged their inside height advantage and fought back. Mineola maintained a 29-27 edge going into the halftime break. 

The Jackets made some halftime adjustments and the third quarter was practically a draw. Commerce drew even at 37, but an offensive rebound put-back by Spigner and a strong drive down the lane by Mylee Fischer gave Mineola a 41-37 advantage after three quarters. The quarter was highlighted by some sound positional play by the Lady Jackets. A timely defensive rebound by Macy Fischer and another assist by Spigner, to Jayla Jackson, demonstrated great court awareness.   

Mineola began the final quarter with a 7-0 run. Five scores from the free throw line and a Spigner steal, which was converted to a scoring drive by Kyra Jackson, accounted for the scoring. 

The game kept the referees busy. There were a ton of fouls, but both sides were whistled equally. Most Mineola fouls were reaching or press-associated violations, while Commerce was repeatedly called for either fouling Lady Jackets on shot attempts or being one step too slow and picking up blocking fouls.

With two minutes to play, Mineola maintained a 10-point lead. Critical free throw shooting never allowed the Lady Tigers to threaten the lead. 

To their credit, the Lady Jackets’ composure never yielded. They played with intense focus and great energy to the final buzzer.

It is tough to recognize stand-out performers from this win. Most certainly, Paris Spigner – whose intensity seemed to take the Lady Tigers aback – and Mylee Fischer had extraordinary games, but it was a true team effort.

Of note, Tanner Hartzog logged some excellent minutes off the bench, as did Carmen Carrasco, while Macy Fischer led the back court and scored on two drives during which she would simply not be denied.

There is little doubt that this win will be referenced throughout the year when the Lady Jackets are in the middle of another tough game. 

Mineola will be in the Wills Point Tourney this weekend. Following three road games, they will next be at home on Friday, Dec. 16, when they host Harmony.