Lake Dallas’ new head coach, Julie McMinn, has had a rough go of things so far in her tenure leading the Lady Falcons.

Her team came into Monday’s game the healthiest it’s been all year -- but still with some injuries -- and it showed, as the Lady Falcons beat Guyer, 47-35, at Wildcat Gymnasium.

Senior forward Rachelle Franklin led the Lady Falcons (3-3) with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks and made her presence known inside along with her frontcourt mate Brea Terrell, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

“She’s just a great athlete and does a lot of great things,” McMinn said of Franklin. “That’s why she has to stay smart and stay on the floor. We depend on her a lot out there.”

Franklin fouled out in the game’s final minute after picking up her fourth foul at the end of the third quarter.

“She had a bunch of fouls in there,” said Guyer head coach Charla Valenzuela. “I don’t feel like every one [of Franklin’s blocks] was a clean block. I know she’s a good athlete, but we shot six free throws to their 19. I know they’re big, strong players in the post but our girls went up hard too, and I thought we could’ve gone to the line a few more times.”

Guyer (1-3) was hurt by turnovers and foul trouble, especially early on, as the Lady Wildcats finished the first half with 16 turnovers (31 in the game) and already had seven team fouls at the end of the first quarter, putting the Lady Falcons in the bonus for the entire second quarter.

McMinn said with her team’s state right now, she’s not really concentrating on her opponents’ offensive troubles, but just on her team’s play.

“I didn’t realize they had that many [turnovers],” McMinn said. “I wasn’t aware they were struggling that bad. We’re just trying to focus on ourselves and keep our composure. I thought we lost it quite a bit out there. It’s still early in the season and we’re concentrating on the defensive end.”

Valenzuela also wasn’t aware of anything special her opponent was doing.

“Their defense wasn’t anything outstanding,” she said. “I mean, it was good, but it wasn’t anything mind-boggling. It’s not like they created [turnovers]. We just did that to ourselves. We’re just not patient with the ball offensively.”

Guyer pulled within three points at 14-11 at the end of the first quarter when Jocelyn Cook hit a layup at the buzzer to cap off her 8-point first quarter, but Lake Dallas went on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter and was never really threatened after that.

The Lady Wildcats were led by Cook, who finished with 10 points as the only Guyer player in double figures. Carrie Johnson and Leah Russell each finished with six points, and Hannah Ingram finished with five.

Lake Dallas’ Kelsee Barr finished with nine points and six steals, applying consistent pressure and hassle to Guyer ball handlers.

The game was especially big for Russell, a senior who transferred from Lake Dallas over the summer and was a leader on the Lady Falcons’ team that went three rounds deep in the playoffs last season.

The senior guard was the biggest casualty of Guyer’s foul trouble, picking up two quick fouls in the game’s first three minutes, and she never had a chance to get into the flow of the game.

“This is an emotional game, I know, because it’s a big rivalry being right down the street,” McMinn said. “We’re just glad to come away with a win.”

ADAM BOEDEKER can be reached at 940-566-6872. His e-mail address is aboedeker@dentonrc.com.

Lake Dallas 47, Guyer 35

Lake Dallas            14            14            12            7            47

Guyer   11            8            8            8            35

Lake Dallas (3-3) -- Rachelle Franklin 16, Brea Terrell 12, Kelsee Barr 9, Joy Adeku 4, Brittni Bauman 6.

Guyer (1-3) -- Jocelyn Cook 10, Leah Russell 6, Carrie Johnson 6, Hannah Ingram 5, Alyssa Keim 4, Kim Seiler 4.