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Month: February 2020
PHOTO GALLERY: Region II-1A girls basketball semifinals (62 images)
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GIRLS BASKETBALL REGIONAL ROUNDUP: Eula tops Saltillo, Gruver stops Stamford
MANSFIELD — The Eula girls outscored Saltillo 11-7 in the first quarter Friday and added to their lead in each of the next two periods to secure a 42-34 win in the Region III-1A semifinals and earn a spot in Saturday’s title game against No. 3 Lipan.
Coach Jamie Masonheimer’s squad led 19-14 at halftime, before increasing its lead to eight with a 9-6 run through the third quarter.
GAME STORY: Hermleigh pulls away from Blackwell, Veribest tops Aspermont in II-1A semis
The Hermleigh and Veribest girls basketball teams will meet for the Region II-1A championship on Saturday after each earned victories in the semifinals Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.
No. 23 Veribest (26-10) punched its ticket first, holding off Aspermont 49-43 in Friday’s early game, before seventh-ranked Hermleigh pulled away in the second half for a 43-27 win over No. 16 Blackwell.
The Lady Falcons and Lady Cardinals will now face off at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Moody for a spot in the Class 1A state tournament, slated for Sept. 5-7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
GAME STORY: Jim Ned, Brock girls fall in regional (two box scores included)
PLAINVIEW — It wasn’t the Big Country’s night at Wayland Baptist University on Friday as Brock and Jim Ned were both eliminated in the Region I-3A semifinals in the Hutcherson Center.
The evening opened with Idalou eliminating Brock 44-28, after which Jim Ned fell 47-40 to Shallowater in the nightcap.
Both area clubs were plagued by cold shooting in the early going and neither recovered.
Shallowater (34-2) will meet Idalou (32-7) for the regional title Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Hutcherson Center, with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
BCP Baseball Position Rankings: Utility Players
After recognizing the Big Country’s top pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders, we wrap up our baseball position rankings series with the area’s multi-position standouts.
For the final installment in our five-part series, we take a look at the top utility players, ranking our top-six with others to watch in 2020.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these lists and are as excited as we are that baseball season is underway.
FEATURE: Sophomore nucleus helps Haskell reach regional tournament
HASKELL — If the Haskell Maidens are to reach the Class 2A state tournament in San Antonio this season, they will do it with a sprinkling of experience and a heavy dose of young talent.
Only one senior, Landry Hanson (15. 1 points, 6.6 boards per game), is on the roster, while three sophomores — Delaney Hanson, Emma Roewe and Melody Martinez — collectively contribute a large block of the team’s production.
The Maidens (31-3) will take their youthful act on the road to Levelland Friday night, where they will meet Panhandle (30-5) in the Region I-2A semifinals at South Plains College at 6:30 p.m.
The winner will take on either Stamford (26-7) or Gruver (30-2) in the regional title game set for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Levelland.
GAME STORY: Cold shooting dooms Brownwood boys in loss to WF Hirschi
BRECKENRIDGE — The first couple of minutes of Brownwood’s Region I-4A area-round matchup with Wichita Falls Hirschi went exactly how coach Nadir Dalleh had hoped they would.
But after jumping out to a quick 9-2 lead over the Huskies, the Lions lost their shooting touch.
Brownwood was held without a field goal in the second quarter — the first time in at least four years that has happened according to Dalleh — and the Huskies got red-hot during the period to seize control on their way to a 72-40 win.
BCP Baseball Position Rankings: Outfielders
For Day 4 of our five-part baseball position rankings series, we focus our binoculars on the outfield grass.
After highlighting the Big Country’s top pitchers, catchers and infielders earlier this week, we now do the same with the area’s best outfielders, ranking our top 10 with others to watch in 2020.
We hope you enjoy our list.
FEATURE: Jim Ned’s Galvin a key part of Lady Indians’ chances to reach San Antonio
TUSCOLA —If it can be said that no team makes it to the state tournament without productive guard play, then the Jim Ned Lady Indians could 
list themselves as viable candidates heading into Friday’s Region I-3A tournament in Plainview.
Senior Brooke Galvin, a four-year varsity player with a penchant for leadership, is a primary reason for that.
Jim Ned (34-3), which will take on Shallowater (35-2) in a regional semifinal slated for 7:30 p.m., will lean on Galvin to not only direct the offense, but to help keep the team poised in what is almost certain to be a raucous and difficult environment.
The Lady Indians won’t be alone in this challenge. In fact, all four qualifiers in this week’s event at Wayland Baptist University, which includes Brock (30-7) and Idalou (31-7), are known for having high-quality backcourts.
BCP Baseball Position Rankings: Infielders
After ranking the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country baseball scene the past two nights, we now turn our attention to the infield.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area with a list of others to watch in 2020.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
BCP Podcast No. 83: Brock coach Shawna Lavender joins the show to talk hoops with Evan and Dan
With the surviving area girls teams heading into their various regional tournaments and the boys moving into the area round, Evan and Daniel to take a look at the most recent area results and pairings.
Tonight, they are joined by Brock coach Shawna Lavender, whose Lady Eagles will be facing Idalou in the Region I-3A tournament in Plainview on Friday.
PHOTO GALLERY: Haskell vs. Christoval regional quarterfinal (91 images) 2-25-20
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LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Cooper, Wylie boys close season with bi-district losses
SLATON — The Cooper boys basketball team played right with Amarillo Palo Duro for three quarters Tuesday, but the Dons pulled away in the fourth to win the Region I-5A bi-district playoff 65-50.
Leading by just four points at the end of the third quarter, Palo Duro outscored Cooper 17-6 over the final eight minutes to end the Cougars’ season at 12-20.
GAME STORY: Stamford girls advance to first regional tournament
Describing how she felt was hard for Stamford girls basketball coach Missy Dutchover on Tuesday night after her squad earned its first ever regional tournament berth with a 49-39 win over Albany at Hardin-Simmons University’s Mabee Complex.
“It’s a little surreal right now,” Dutchover said. “I’m really proud of my kids. We talked really big about taking advantage of your opportunities because you don’t know when you’re going to get them again.”
Sophomore guard Tylee Jo Bevel had a game-high 16 points for the Lady Bulldogs and was equally speechless as Stamford gets ready to face No. 3 Gruver in Friday’s Region I-2A semifinals at 8 p.m. at South Plains College in Levelland.
