The Maidens basketball team will play the Titans (home school) at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock tonight.

With a nationally-ranked guard on the Titans, the Maidens can’t afford to get a slow start.

“As long as we play strong and keep the ball away from the point guard, I think we have a chance,” junior post Ashlea Pool. “We need to make sure that everyone is blocking out, and we need to make our free throws. A lot of our losses were because we couldn’t get our free throws in.”

Senior guard Kynedy Rosalez said that tonight’s game will be a challenge.

“They have a girl who has already signed to play with Texas Tech, so we need to watch out for her,” Rosalez said. “It’s going to be tough. They have some good shooters, but I do think that a win is possible if we don’t back off. It’s going to be pretty even.”

The Maiden record is at 6-8 after the Dec. 13 loss to Odessa High, 48-40.

“The girls played really hard on Tuesday,” Coach Leland Bearden said. “I am very proud of their effort and how they hung in there until the end.”

The Maidens will focus on unfinished business as district approaches. “We need to spend more time in the gym,” Rosalez said. “We need to practice our shots and work on playing tough.”

The new district presents many challenges for the Maidens in tough teams. “It’s going to be tougher than last year,” Rosalez said. “I think our biggest challenges are going to be Denver City and Levelland.”

The Maidens, who are young with several sophomores on the roster, realize that each game will present challenges. “Tonight is going to be another tough game,” Bearden said. “It’s going to be a good one.”