Turnovers Plague No. 2 Mason in Semifinal Loss

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- A slew of turnovers eventually led to the downfall of the Mason Cowgirls in a 61-54 loss to no. 12 Grapeland on Friday at the Alamodome.

The Cowgirls committed 38 turnovers which enabled Grapeland to score 34 points off those turnovers on Friday morning. In comparison, the Cowgirls forced 26 turnovers, but managed just 16 points.

Grapeland played a high press which, with their speed, gave the Cowgirls fits.

"Their speed had a lot to do with [the turnovers]," head coach Jeff Guice said. "The turnovers made the difference ... It was probably one of the best [presses]. There were several times we broke the press on the back end and didn't finish. We didn't make some layups on the back end and that hurt us."

A pair of layups from Ruby Magnus gave Mason a 4-1 lead early in the first quarter. Grapeland's Ragan Bowie hit a three-pointer with 5 minutes, 12 seconds left in the first quarter to tie the game. That sparked a 13-5 run to close out the quarter and the Sandies never looked back.

Grapeland's lead would grow to as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter. The Sandies were nearly matched the rest of the game by the Cowgirls, leading 28-22 at the half and 43-36 at the end of the third before each team scored 18 points in the final quarter.

Magnus stole the show for the Cowgirls on Friday, notching a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds. That's to be expected from the four-year varsity player, Guice said.

"This is always Ruby," Guice praised. "This is her fourth year on varsity. She's scored over 2,000 points for us in her career, and, I don't know, 1,500 to 1,600 rebounds. She's a three-year starter. Ruby's played big for us for years. She's averaged a double-double since she was a sophomore."

Mason finishes the season with an overall record of 38-2.