Big Country girls basketball teams combined to post a 4-1 record on the opening day of the Polk-Key City Classic on Thursday, which saw Jim Ned, Cooper, Abilene High and Wylie cruise to comfortable victories and Sweetwater drop a close one to San Antonio Stevens.

Jim Ned got the day started with a 52-26 win over Lubbock Coronado at Hardin-Simmons’ Mabee Complex, where Cooper followed with a 51-37 win over Little River Academy. Abilene High and Wylie then took care of business on their home courts, routing El Paso Franklin (53-26) and Salado (64-25), respectively, to join the Lady Indians and Lady Cougars in Friday’s winners bracket.

Sweetwater had a chance to win its tournament opener, playing Stevens to a tie early in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Falcons pulled away late for a 54-46 win at Abilene High’s Eagle Gym.

Jim Ned rides fast start to blowout win

Jim Ned raced out to a 10-2 lead after a quarter and stretched that to 20 points by halftime on its way to comfortable win over Coronado.

The Lady Indians, who advanced to play Abilene High at 9 a.m. on Friday, held a 43-16 lead after three quarters, allowing coach Hunter Cooley to get his bench players plenty of minutes in the fourth.

Libby Tutt and Brooke Galvin led all scorers with 13 points apiece, while Jenna Moore added 11. No Coronado player topped five points in the loss.

With the victory, Jim Ned improved to 3-1 on the season. A win over AHS on Friday would earn the Lady Indians a spot in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening against the winner of Cooper and Dallas Bishop Lynch.

JIM NED 52, LUBBOCK CORONADO 26

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th		Final
Coronado	2	6	8	10	—	26
Jim Ned	10	18	15	9	—	52

Coronado — Chantal Pervis 2 1-2 5, Michaela Johnson 1 0-1 3, Camille Weindorf 0 0-0 0, Kai McGrew 0 0-0 0, Savannah Holstein 0 0-0 0, Alyssa Elizondo 1 0-0 2, Kambry Moneymaker 0 0-0 0, Taegan Ramos 1 0-0 2, Taylor Salazar 0 0-0 0, Taylor Tadlock 0 1-2 1, Jasmine Smith 2 0-0 5, Ali Martinez 2 0-0 4, Ayana Segrest 0 2-4 2. Totals 9 4-9 26.

Jim Ned (3-1) — Taylor Benton 1 1-2 3, Jenna Moore 5 0-0 11, Alexis Espinosa 0 2-2 2, Carter Gomez 0 0-0 0, Libby Tutt 6 1-2 13, Leticia Salas 1 0-0 2, Claire Graham 2 0-0 5, Brooke Galvin 6 0-0 13, Malone Graham 1 1-1 3. Totals 23 4-6 52.

3-Point Goals — Coronado 2 (Johnson 1, Smith 1); Jim Ned 3 (Moore 1, C.Graham 1, Galvin 1). Fouled Out — None. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Coronado 8; Jim Ned  6. 

Lady Coogs overwhelm Academy in opener

The Cooper Lady Cougars used an aggressive full-court press and some strong outside shooting to score pull away early from Little River Academy.

Coach Lauren Ash’s team, which was paced by Keiana Kemp with 17 points, led 12-4 after one quarter and increased its advantage each of the next two periods.

The Lady Coogs, who improved to 3-1 with the win, hit five 3-pointers against Academy’s zone, getting three from Kemp and one apiece from Jennika Willis and Meri Tetaj. Willis was Cooper’s second-leading scorer with eight points, while Tetaj and Alexis Garcia both scored seven.

“They came out ready to go,” Ash said. “Starting it off with that press puts the pressure on them, and we were able to convert early. We hit some shots early, and it was just kind of a snowball effect for us that lasted the whole time.”

The Lady Coogs will put their three-game winning streak on the line Friday against Bishop Lynch, which downed Odessa Permian 56-46 in its PKC opener. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 10 a.m. at HSU.

COOPER 51, LITTLE RIVER ACADEMY 37

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th		Final
Academy	4	12	12	9	—	37
Cooper	12	19	14	6	—	51

Academy (1-2) — Kerstin Turner 1 0-0 2, Lilli Stewart 1 0-0 3, Desi Bolin 1 0-0 2, Schreier 0 0-0 0, Kylah Hulsey 2 0-0 5, Jenna Brazeal 4 0-4 8, Alex Fastzkie 1 3-6 7, Ellie Erwin 2 2-5 6, Aubrey Fossett 2 0-0 5, Moreno 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 5-15 37.

Cooper (3-1) — Olivia Ellington 1 2-3 4, Alexis Garcia 3 1-2 7, Dazz Larkins 1 0-0 2, Keiana Kemp 4 6-8 17, Jennika Willis 3 1-3 8, Nyah Berrios 0 0-0 0, Cecilia Lopez 2 0-0 4, Alexys Roderick 0 0-0 0, Meri Tetaj 3 0-0 7. Totals 18 10-16 51.

3-Point Goals — Academy 3 (Stewart 1, Halsey 1, Fossett 1); Cooper 5 (Kemp 3, Willis 1, Tetaj 1). Fouled Out — Stewart. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Academy 15; Cooper 14. 

Strong ‘D,’ offensive balance fuels AHS to win

Abilene High dominated Franklin from the start, holding the Lady Cougars to four points in each of the first two quarters in building a 29-8 halftime lead.

The Lady Eagles turned strong pressure defense into easy offense, putting Franklin in an early hole it would never climb out of.

“We made them play our basketball and ran through the passing lanes and ended up with the basketball quite a bit,” coach Terri Aston said. “So it was good for us and it was a good representation of who we want to be.”

AHS had a balanced offensive attack, getting 11 points from Jaycee Johnson and Georgia Montes, 10 from Alyssa Washington and eight from K.K. Roberson in the win.

Montes came up big from beyond the arc for AHS, knocking down three of her team’s four 3-pointers.

The Lady Eagles, who improved to 3-2 with the win, will try to knock off Jim Ned on Friday morning to secure a spot in the semifinals.

ABILENE HIGH 53, EL PASO FRANKLIN 26

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th		Final
Franklin	4	4	9	9	—	26
Abilene High	16	13	11	13	—	53

Franklin (6-1) — Jazmine Lozano 0 2-2 2, Mia Cooney 1 0-0 2, Cynthia Gallegos 2 2-6 6, Clarissa Dominguez 1 1-2 3, Kara Marcantel 2 2-3 6, Emily Martinez 1 0-0 2, Brianna Sano 1 1-2 3, Angie Murillo 1 0-0 2. Totals 9 8-15 26.

Abilene High (3-2) — Destiny Potts 0 2-2 2, Alyssa Washington 5 0-0 10, K.K. Roberson 2 4-6 8, Jaycee Johnson 5 0-1 11, T.J. Jones 1 0-0 2, Calee Payne 0 0-0 0, Brooklin Ellis 0 0-0 0, Leila Musquiz 0 1-1 1, Emily Esquivel 0 0-0 0, Georgia Montes 4 0-0 11, Tavia Wilson 0 0-0 0, Toria Wilson 0 2-2 2, Kelly Boyland 3 0-2 6. Totals 20 9-14 53.

3-Point Goals — Franklin 0; Abilene High 4 (Montes 3, Johnson 1). Fouled Out — None. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Franklin 12; Abilene High 12. 

Wylie runs away from Salado in dominating win

Wylie’s defensive pressure proved far too much for Salado to handle Thursday, as the Lady Bulldogs turned a bevy of steals into points on the other end in a blowout win.

The Lady Bulldogs outscored the Lady Eagles 28-5 in the first quarter and stretched that advantage to 43-13 by halftime before easing up on the press and coasting in the second half.

“We wanted to get out to a fast start,” first-year Wylie coach Amy Powell said. “Our first three games, we’ve gotten out really slow. We really talked about starting out quick, starting out strong and they did that.

“It was a really great first quarter for us. We had some kids come off the bench for us and give us some good minutes and we were able to rest our legs a little bit and get ready for two games (Friday).”

Skylar Williams led a balanced offensive effort for Wylie with 14 points, including two of the Lady Bulldogs’ three 3-pointers. Emma Melton followed with nine points, while Abbey Henson and Kamryn Dry both scored eight.

Up next for the Powell’s squad is a 1:30 p.m. meeting with El Paso Burges, which downed Weatherford 52-34 in Thursday’s late game at Wylie. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of Odessa High and Stevens in the semifinals at 8 p.m. at HSU.

WYLIE 64, SALADO 25

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th		Final
Salado	5	8	2	10	—	25
Wylie	28	15	9	12	—	64

Salado — Melissa McCulloch 0 0-0 0, Lexie Lima 0 5-5 5, Amanda Cantu 0 0-0 0, Priscilla Torczynski 0 0-0 0, Reese Preston 2 0-0 5, Nicole Pettigrew 0 0-0 0, Jasey Goings 4 0-0 10, Kaia Philen 1 1-3 3, Lorena Perez 1 0-0 2, Corban Mescher 0 0-0 0, Abby Rembert 0 0-0 0, Maddy Wade 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 6-8 25.

Wylie (3-2) — Emma Melton 3 3-4 9, Abbey Henson 4 0-1 8, Madi Latham 1 4-4 6, Karis Christian 1 3-4 5, Sarah Wolfe 1 0-0 2, Mary Lovelace 2 2-2 6, Kamryn Dry 2 3-9 8, Skylar Williams 5 2-2 14, Madi Owen 0 0-0 0, Emily Edwards 0 0-0 0, Bailey Roberts 1 0-0 2, Kalilah Modest 1 2-2 4. Totals 21 19-28 64.

3-Point Goals — Salado 3 (Preston 1, Goings 2); Wylie 3 (Dry 1, Williams 2). Fouled Out — Wade. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Salado 20; Wylie 12. 

Sweetwater drops hard-fought game to Stevens

Sweetwater led Stevens 14-2 after a strong start Thursday, but the Lady Falcons pulled within five points by halftime and outscored the Lady Mustangs 34-21 in the second half of a tournament-opening win.

Amber Knox, Rashavia Green and Tavis Black all had big games for Sweetwater, accounting for 43 of the Lady Mustangs’ 46 points, but Stevens Destiny Jenkins stole the show, scoring all but five of her game-high 24 points over the final two quarters.

Ayana Parham also reached double figures for the Lady Falcons, finishing with 12 points.

With the victory, Stevens moves on to play Odessa High in the winners bracket, while Sweetwater moves on to play Amarillo Caprock in the consolation bracket.

SAN ANTIONIO STEVENS 54, SWEETWATER 46

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th		Final
Sweetwater	14	11	8	13	—	46
Stevens	2	18	17	17	—	54

Sweetwater (0-4) — Amber Knox 5 2-6 15, Rashavia Green 6 2-4 14, Mia Valdez 0 0-0 0, Tavis Black 6 2-2 14, Kyla Daniel 0 0-0 0, Neveah Sarabia 0 1-2 1, Alex Bell 1 0-0 2, Sheyla Berrera 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-14 46.

Stevens — Jazmin Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Destiny Jenkins 8 3-4 24, Ananda Holmes 1 0-0 3, Lakayla Hines 2 1-4 5, Ayana Parham 5 0-0 12, Jade Mitchell 4 0-0 8, Alyssa Elizondo 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 4-8 54.

3-Point Goals — Sweetwater 3 (Knox 3); Stevens 8 (Jenkins 5, Holmes 1, Holmes 2). Fouled Out — None. Technical Fouls — None. Total Fouls — Sweetwater 8; Stevens 13.