Yesterday, Senior Editor Jay Tope had the New Braunfels Lady Unicorns on KENS-5 TV’s Great Day SA with Kelly Patterson. Watch the video:
Lady Unicorns maintain share of district lead
Posted by
Mark Kusenberger on December 30, 2009 at 9:02 am
New Braunfels dominates start to finish in 50-35 victory over Lee
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
An aggressive press led to several easy baskets and a 50-35 victory for the New Braunfels Unicorns over the Lee Volunteers at New Braunfels Tuesday night.
New Braunfels (19-3, 5-1 in 26-5A) remains tied in the loss column with Smithson Valley and Churchill for the district lead. Churchill faces Johnson Wednesday afternoon at Littleton Gym; Smithson Valley plays at MacArthur Wednesday evening.
Becca Knudson led all scorers with 13 points. Knudson converted two steals into layups in the first quarter, and converted another into an assist to Julie Dirienzo in the second quarter.
Unofficially, New Braunfels had 11 steals in the first half and 17 for the game. The Lady Unicorns, leading 33-16 at halftime, ceased their full-court press for the second half.
New Braunfels outscored Lee (8-13, 0-5 in 26-5A) by 17-6 in the first quarter on their way to building a 28-8 lead. Lee did manage to shrink the lead to 33-16 at the half, thanks largely to 6 points from Deziree Prado. But Knudson led a 10-0 run to built the lead to 43-18. Despite abandoning the press, New Braunfels held Lee to four third-quarter points. The Unicorns built the lead to 50-24 in the fourth quarter before Lee closed the game with an 11-0 run.
New Braunfels post player Sophie Thomas was injured with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter and did not return.
Mariah Silva led the Lady Volunteers with nine points; Serena Reyes contributed six points and six blocked shots.
Unicorns win 66-60 in Volunteers’ second loss of season
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
Danny Oldani’s 16 points led the New Braunfels Unicorns to a 66-60 upset victory over the Lee Volunteers Tuesday night at New Braunfels.
The loss drops Lee out of a tie for first with Churchill and into a four-way tie for second in the loss column with Johnson, Madison, and MacArthur. Churchill, the only undefeated team in 26-5A play, faces Johnson Wednesday, while MacArthur plays Smithson Valley. The win was New Braunfels’ first in district play this season, leaving Roosevelt as the only winless team in 26-5A play; Roosevelt plays Reagan Wednesday evening.
New Braunfels (7-10, 1-3 in 26-5A) received support from all over the floor, holding Michael McPherson to 5 points, barely one third his season average. The Unicorns also used their team height (New Braunfels played seven players at 6’2 or taller; Lee played two) to pass over aggressive defenders for breakaway baskets.
David Norris scored the game’s first 5 points, giving New Braunfels a lead that Lee would challenge, but never take away. Norris also defending Lee’s Paul Garnica for most of the first quarter.
Lee (22-2, 2-1 in 26-5A) fought with five points twice in the second quarter, but P.J. Anderson helped fend off the Volunteers with eight second-quarter points.
Danny Oldani’s hot shooting in the third quarter – 10 points including two three-pointers – spurred the Unicorns to a 50-33 lead. Lee then took off on an 11-0 run, including 5 free throws by Jeremy McCracken, and appeared to be headed to the fourth quarter down 50-44. However, the Volunteers were whistled for a foul at the third quarter buzzer, and Kyle HIttle made two free throws with no time on the clock to send New Braunfels to the fourth quarter leading 52-44.
Dylan Dhase contributed the highlights of the fourth quarter. With McPherson headed for an apparent breakaway layup, Dhase blocked his shot. Later, when free throws by Garnica pulled Lee within 62-55, Dhase’s two-pointer pushed the lead back up to nine. Lee pulled within six at the end thanks to Garnica’s layup just before the buzzer.
LEE SCORING: 22-2, 2-1 Sat Johnson – Paul Garnica 28, Jeremy McCracken 17, Michael McPherson 5, Rudy DeLeon 4, Jose Chapa 4, Abel Mota 2, George Cardenas, Joe Uribe, Chris Canedo
NEW BRAUNFELS SCORING: Danny Oldani 16, P.J. Anderson 11, Dylan Dhase 9, Tyler Hirsch 9, David Norris 7, Christian Cantu 4, Kyle Hittle 4, Nate Green 3, Reed Edwards 2, Calob Castilleja 1, John Simmons, Aaron Underwood
Girls basketball: Churchill vs. New Braunfels - In Pictures
Posted by
Jay Tope on December 23, 2009 at 10:05 am
The New Braunfels Unicorns came in to Monday’s game with Churchill unblemished in 26-5A action.
After Monday’s game, there was a three-way tie for first, as Churchill came from behind to defeat New Braunfels at Littleton Gym. Smithson Valley, Churchill and New Braunfels all have one loss in district play.
Posted by
Mark Kusenberger on December 22, 2009 at 5:57 am
Churchill overcomes 17-point third quarter deficit to win 48-43
by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer
Ashley Burgamy’s three-pointer with 1:12 left gave Churchill their first lead as the Lady Chargers rallied from 17 down to defeat the district leading New Braunfels Lady Unicorns 48-43 Monday afternoon at Littleton Gym.
Churchill (13-10, 3-1 in 26-5A) outscored New Braunfels 30-10 over the last 12 minutes of the game.
Carly Truesdale scored 12 second-half points to lead the Churchill rally, including 8 in a 20-point Churchill third quarter. She scored the first three points of Churchill’s rally. Churchill closed the third with a 10-0 run which included 5 straight points by Jordan Holub and a Danielle Espinosa layup at the third quarter buzzer. Trailing 30-13 early in the third and 33-18 with 4:08 left in the third, Churchill was within 35-33 at the end of three.
For much of the fourth quarter, the Lady Unicorns were able to fend of Churchill thanks to free throws by Julie Dirienzo, who shot 6 of 8 from the line in the quarter and 8 of 10 for the game. After Churchill tied the game with 2:30 left on a three-point play from Espinosa, Dirienzo put the Unicorns back in the lead with 2 free throws, before Burgamy’s tray – her third of the night – put Churchill ahead for good at 42-41.
New Braunfels (15-3, 4-1 in 26-5A) spent most of the first half proving why they’re one of the top team in the area. The Lady Unicorns stormed to a 7-0 lead with baskets by Dirienzo and Sophie Thomas plus a three from Katie Hittle. Churchill held steady for a while, with the second of Holub’s two putbacks drawing them within 12-6. Then Holub, whose substitute was checked at the scorer’s table, committed her third foul with 1:14 left in the first quarter, forcing her to the bench for the rest of the half.
By the end of the first half, 8 different Unicorns had scored, and New Braunfels led 27-13, with no signs pointing to the comeback to come.
The Churchill victory, combined with Smithson Valley’s win over Johnson, creates a 3-way to for first in 26-5A in the loss column among Churchill, New Braunfels, and Smithson Valley.
NEW BRAUNFELS SCORING: Julie Dirienzo 12, Becca Knudson 11, Sophie Thomas 6, Katie Hittle 5, Caitlin Gillum 3, Emily Fisher 2, Heather Hewitt 2, Brandi Peters 2, Kristin Guerrero
The last team left standing in 26-5A, the New Braunfels Unicorns, don’t plan on ending their football season anytime soon.
Friday at the Alamodome, the Unicorns dominated PSJA North 62-21, and have now advanced to the Region IV-5A Division II Finals, where they will take on the winner of the Brandeis-Edinburg North matchup.
Saturday night, the magic number at Comalander Stadium was 300 - and Coach Jim Streety won his 300th game as the Madison Mavericks defeated New Braunfels 21-13.
It was plays like this TD catch by Nate Askew that sealed the victory for the Mavs, who started off district play with a 1-0 mark.
New Braunfels, despite the loss, is still an odds-on favorite to be in the playoff race in the tough 26-5A district.
When New Braunfels and Canyon high schools get together for the annual Wurst Bowl, there are many certainties; a packed house, lots of pageantry, great food, and great football.
But regardless of which team you support, no one was expecting the Unicorns to post a 69-2 win over Canyon on Thursday night.
The New Braunfels High School tennis team claimed another fall tennis championship this past season, making it the second year in a row that the Unicorns have dominated the Texas tennis courts.
Lead by Coach David Mueller, the co-ed team was a mix of seasoned veterans and eager learners. This year they won the 5A district crown, adding the current title to 2007’s 4A victory, along with the credit of being the first team to win both consecutively.
“It all started 6 years ago, we had a very talented group of freshmen. They are now seniors who share their talents with all the new faces on the team,” Mueller said.
The Unicorns beat San Antonio’s Reagan High School, Klein High School, and faced off against Houston’s Clear Lake for the Championship. The teams played a series of 19 matches. The men played six singles matches as did the women, then there was a series of three doubles matches and then a mixed doubles match. When all the volleying was over, the Unicorns had beaten Clear Lake 10-2.
Though it seems the title was easily clinched, Mueller and the team know a win like this isn’t always easy.
“No one ever gives it to you,” Mueller added. “You have to play hard. It certainly wasn’t easy we worried about the finals but we knew we were stronger.”
According to Mueller, another ingredient to the team’s success has been the leadership and closeness of the team. The bonds made on the tennis court still run strong, as many of the graduating seniors frequently stop by or keep in touch with Mueller and past teammates.
This years graduating seniors are passing the racket to a new set of players who will carry on the hopes of further titles. In Mueller’s 27 years of coaching he has seen many of team members move on and play tennis in college. The currentplayers also participate year round in national tennis tournaments.
“There is no down time for top players in any program, they play all year long.”
The Unicorns have enjoyed their view at the top.
“This year we felt we were the best and we were happy to defend our title,” Muelled added. “Right now I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
