Month: December 2019

by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Gritty Lady Loboes picking up where they left off despite graduation losses

After losing three key seniors from last year’s 31-4 squad, the Cisco girls basketball team was expected by some to take a significant step backward this season.

Those folks clearly underestimated the leadership and grit of the 2019-20 Lady Loboes.

While the losses of district offensive MVP Leigh Anne Montell, district defensive MVP Katelyn Bird and first-team all-district pick Lauren Underwood have certainly been felt, they haven’t flung Cisco into the rebuilding phase some viewed as inevitable.

In fact, after a 2-0 start to District 6-3A play and a run to the championship game of the Eula Holiday Classic over the weekend, the Lady Loboes are looking like a threat once again in a stacked Region I-3A field.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Running hoops tournaments can be a hassle, but the reward can benefit an entire town

ANSON — It could be said that a well-run high school basketball tournament is an event where the organizers aren’t noticed at all. One that operates so smoothly that the only thing people have to worry about is basketball. 

Behind the scenes, however, is a busy contingent of volunteers, working to see that all the square pegs find the square holes. It’s not as easy as it looks, and the level of difficulty can be even higher for lesser-known events.

Last week, for example, multiple tournaments were played throughout Texas, including large events in Eula and Brownwood. But under the radar, a nine-year-old event in Anson — The Lions Club Holiday Tournament — battled its way through some last-minute changes to secure another successful conclusion. 

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by Evan Ren

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Anson girls fall to Childress in title game of Lions Club Tournament

ANSON — When studying videotape of Friday’s 45-40 loss to Childress, the Anson girls basketball team will likely find several key plays that would have helped to reverse the result of the title game in the Ninth Annual  Lions Club Holiday Tournament. 

But perhaps none were more important than a third quarter foul drawn by junior Landry Overby, which saw her take an unintentional blow to the head while driving for a layup. Shaken up, Overby was subsequently removed from the game, leaving the already size-challenged Lady Tigers at a big disadvantage to CHS.

Overby, who was named to the all-tourney team, finished with seven points. But without her on the floor during the final period, the Lady Tigers, who trailed 29-28 after three quarters, saw the game gradually slip away. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Martin’s Mill tops Breck for Eula Holiday Classic boys title

For 2½ quarters, Breckenridge played right with perennial power Martin’s Mill in the Eula Holiday Classic boys championship game Saturday. But the Buckaroos ran out of gas over the final 12 minutes, falling to the Class 2A No. 3 Mustangs 64-42 to cap two days of near-nonstop basketball action.

Breck, which defeated Jim Ned 60-47 in Saturday morning’s semifinals after an impressive 2-0 showing on Friday, was tied with Martin’s Mill at 28-all with 5:31 remaining in the third quarter. But the Mustangs closed that period on a 16-2 run and maintained control for the remainder of the game to claim their second straight title at Eula’s annual tournament.

That finish followed a 62-44 win for Childress over Jim Ned in the boys third-place game. The Bobcats, who fell to Martin’s Mill 58-53 in the quarterfinals on Friday, replaced Tolar in the third-place game to avoid a matchup with district rival Holliday in the consolation title game. Tolar ended up taking the Gold Bracket consolation championship with a 39-36 victory over Holliday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Buzzer beaters decide girls title, third-place game at Eula Classic

The girls half of the Eula Holiday Classic came to a thrilling close Saturday as both the Gold Bracket championship and third-place games were decided by last-second 3-pointers.

Mere hours after Anna Masonheimer’s buzzer-beating trey lifted Eula to a 33-32 win over Eastland in the third-place game, Mason’s Jesse Armstrong canned a triple at the horn to lift the Cowgirls to a 37-35 victory over Cisco for the tournament title.

Those outcomes put a bow on a weekend of basketball action that saw 14 teams play 28 games over a two-day period at the Eula and Clyde gyms. 

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by Evan Ren

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Lady Tigers, Roby, Roscoe advance to semis in Lions Club event

ANSON — A little extra defensive intensity and much better offensive execution after the break helped the Anson Lady Tigers to a 39-23 win over De Leon and a first-place finish in Pool A of the Anson Lions Club Tournament on Friday. 

Gracie Feagan scored 16 points and Valerie Fells added seven more to lift Anson (15-3), which advances to the semifinal round where it will meet Roscoe at 8:30 a.m. Childress and Roby will meet in the other girls semifinal at 11:30 — both games will be at AHS’ primary gymnasium.  

The winners will converge to play for the tournament championship at 6 p.m.  

On the boys’ side, three cancellations from Hamlin, Richland Springs and Vega (the first two due to extended  football seasons), cut a 12-team round robin to just nine, forcing some last-minute changes in the schedule. 

Gunter, Wellington and Post advanced as the pool winners and will play a three-team round robin for the title on Saturday. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Eula, Cisco, Eastland to compete for title on Day 2 of Holiday Classic

There will be three Big Country teams in the Eula Holiday Classic girls semifinals Saturday after successful runs Friday by Eula, Cisco and Eastland.

Eula defeated Eastland 26-24 in what was essentially an exhibition to open the tournament, and both the Lady Pirates and Lady Mavs followed that performance with quarterfinal wins to secure spots in the semis. Eula throttled Tolar 40-24 to earn a matchup with Cisco, while Eastland blasted Clyde 48-23 to advance to take on Mason.

Cisco claimed its spot in Saturday’s semifinals with a 42-36 win over Holliday in the first round and a 59-55 double-overtime victory over Colorado City in the quarters.

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by Daniel Youngblood

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Breck, Jim Ned earn spot in boys semis at Eula Holiday Classic

After 15 games of boys action on Day 1 of the Eula Holiday Classic, two Big Country teams remain with a chance at the tournament title. 

Both Breckenridge and Jim Ned swept their two games Friday to earn a spot in Saturday’s semifinals. And one of those two is guaranteed to reach the championship game as the Buckaroos and Indians are slated to face off at 10:20 a.m. for a shot to face the winner between fellow semifinalists Martin’s Mill and Tolar.

Breckenridge earned that opportunity with dominating wins over Colorado City (63-34) and Eula (50-37), while Jim Ned had to rally past Holliday for a 31-29 win in the quarterfinals after routing Christoval 61-31 in its opener.

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