Bartley's 22 points, 20 rebounds helps Lake Dallas pull away from Richland in 4th quarter

But as has been the case all season for Lake Dallas, senior Altyn Bartley provided a calming influence for her team on Tuesday.

After Bartley recorded Lake Dallas’ first six points of the game, she added five more points in the fourth quarter and also assisted on a crucial 3-pointer by senior Camryn Richardson that allowed the Lady Falcons to pull away for a 45-29 win.

Bartley finished with 22 points and 20 rebounds.

“That’s something that we’ve been trying to get better at, and we didn’t do a good job of handling their defensive pressure in the third quarter,” said Jordan Davis, Lake Dallas head coach. “We worked a lot on press break and man pressure for 30-45 minutes yesterday. We did a great job of switching that around in the fourth quarter.”

End first quarter: Lake Dallas 11, Richland 5Altyn Bartley scored the first six points on a couple of broken plays.Presley Scott had a three-point play.@DylanKoele24 finishes off the 1st quarter with a layup. pic.twitter.com/PDE14eKIvL

— David Wolman (@david_wolmanFWS) January 25, 2023

All season, Bartley and senior forward Diamond Wilson have made for quite the one-two punch in the paint. But with Wilson unavailable Tuesday because of an undisclosed injury, Bartley was highly effective in isolation plays against a smaller Richland frontcourt.

With Lake Dallas holding a one-point lead in the first quarter, Bartley received the ball six feet away from the basket, made a spin move and finished a layup. Presley Scott added a three-point play with a layup and free throw, then Dylan Koele drove to the basket and made a layup for an 11-5 Lady Falcons lead by the end of the first quarter.

“Altyn has been doing a lot for us,” Davis said. “She’s been taking care of the ball. She’s been bringing it up. She’s hitting the board. She’s taking on a big role for us this season. She was really able to help calm our guards down knowing that they were able to get it to her and she can finish at the basket.”

Koele took advantage of what the Richland defense gave her all game on her way to finishing with 12 points.

Lake Dallas held Richland to 12 points in the first half, benefitting from numerous missed shots near the basket by the Royals as well as grabbing several key defensive rebounds. Richland was held scoreless for the first six minutes of the second quarter.

The Royals regrouped at halftime and used a suffocating defense to turn the tables on the Lady Falcons in the third quarter. Junior Emma Ballah jump-started a 15-8 run for Richland with a 3-pointer before Savage came up with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to make it a one-score game in the closing moments of the third quarter.

Lake Dallas came out more relaxed and energized in the fourth quarter. Richardson scored just four points on the night but three of them came on a timely 3-pointer from the right side of the court to increase the Lady Falcons’ lead to 37-29 with 6:13 left.

They also picked up their defensive activity, outscoring the Royals 12-0 over the game’s final 7:18.

With the win, Lake Dallas (15-15 overall, 5-5 District 7-5A) further tightened its grip on fourth place in 7-5A. The Lady Falcons could clinch a playoff berth as early as next Tuesday.