The Smithville Lady Tigers opened the G.M. Blackman Tournament with a 49-43 win over the Flour Bluff Lady Hornets Monday morning at Bastrop High School.
Smithville got a team-high 14 points from Colline Morrell, who was one of two players perfect from the free-throw line.
Smithville, who shot 70 percent from the free-throw line, was 11-of-14 from the charity stripe in the first half.
Flour Bluff would not go away throughout most of the first half. The Lady Tigers were unable to build a comfortable lead, but never trailed.
“We came out with good energy and gave a good effort,” said head coach Robin Ramsay. “I thought we played consistent and fairly decent.”
The Lady Hornets trailed by just one point after the first quarter, thanks to a three-pointer from Brooke Gandie with two seconds left.
Smithville’s free-throw shooting was more than a difference maker in the second quarter.
Freshman Trina Deyo scored three of her seven points from the free-throw line.
All seven of Deyo’s points were scored in the first half, including a field goal with seven seconds left to send the Lady Tigers into the locker room with a 29-24 lead.
Flour Bluff’s Amy Braulchle was the story of the second half, connecting on three of her five three-point field goals.
Unfortunately for the Lady Hornets, that’s about all the offense they could put together.
Morrell, however, scored eight of Smithville’s 14 points in the third quarter to give the Lady Tigers a nice eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
Braulchle scored six of Flour Bluff’s eight points in the quarter — all coming from behind the three-point line.
Despite their own offensive struggles in the fourth quarter, the Lady Tigers were able to hold off any run attempts by the Lady Hornets.
Smithville also had a strong morning on the boards, out rebounding Flour Bluff 23-15.
Jaimie Kadlecek, who was held scoreless, led the Lady Tigers with eight rebounds.
Blakelee Saunders was second in scoring with 13 points, including two three-point field goals.

Lady Tigers fall to Del Valle
In their second game of the tournament on Monday, the Lady Tigers fell hard to the Del Valle Lady Cardinals 52-25.
The swift Lady Cardinals were up ahead from the start, outscoring the Lady Tigers 8-2 in the first four minutes of the game. The Lady Tigers’ only two points came from Jaimie Kadlecek, who totaled with six points.
Not only could Smithville not make it to the basket, but they also got a handful of turnovers.
With two minutes left in the period, Smithville’s Colline Morrell, who had a total of five points, got a field goal.
Meanwhile, Del Valle scored eight points, ending the first quarter with a score of 16-4 Del Valle.
The Lady Tigers tried to catch up in the second quarter with Blakelee Saunders, who led the team with eight points, getting two three-pointers in the first two minutes.
However, the fast and aggressive Lady Cardinals were almost unstoppable, bringing the score to 26-12 Del Valle with two minutes left in the half. Even though Smithville kept them from scoring in those last two minutes, Del Valle went into the locker room ahead by 10.
Both teams appeared to be tired at the start of the second half, with neither of them scoring in the first three minutes.
Morrell finally got Smithville back on the score board with a field goal, but Del Valle outscored them 11-3 in the remaining five minutes of the quarter.
The period ended with a score of 39-21 Smithville.
In the last quarter, the Lady Tigers only scored two field goals, while the Lady Cardinals’ Monique McElveen, who had a game-high 15 points, made eight baskets alone.