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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cross Plains-Westbrook girls basketball playoff (41 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Ira-Eula girls basketball playoff (37 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Iowa Park-Stephenville girls basketball playoff (36 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Munday-Rotan girls basketball playoff (48 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: May-Highland girls basketball playoff (21 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Baird-Hermleigh girls basketball playoff (27 images)”
LUBBOCK — Entering Tuesday’s regular-season finale tied with Lubbock Monterey and Wylie for first in District 4-5A, the Cooper boys basketball team needed a road win over Monterey to clinch at least a share of their second league title in as many years.
Not only did the Cougars get that win, routing the Plainsmen 66-36 on the strength of a big second half, they also got the help they needed from Lubbock Coronado to claim the district championship outright.
While Cooper was knocking off Monterey, Coronado rallied past Wylie 59-55 at home to leave the Cougars alone atop the standings — one game up on Wylie, Monterey and Lubbock Cooper, which all finished tied for second.
WINTERS — It took fourth-ranked Robert Lee Lady Steers a few minutes to get going in their playoff opener Tuesday against Santa Anna. But once they did, the points piled up in a hurry.
Leading just 6-4 midway through the first quarter, the District 11-1A champions closed the first half on a 34-4 run and cruised from there to a 68-22 win at Blizzard Gym.
The victory improved Robert Lee to 29-2 on the season and set up a playoff rematch with Rankin, which ended the Lady Steers’ season a year ago.
MERKEL — The Westbrook girls basketball team learned an important lesson Tuesday night at Badger Gymnasium: a return trip to the UIL state tournament is not going to be easy.
The Lady Cats had to fight and claw their way to a 37-30 win over Cross Plains in a Region II-1A bi-district playoff to start the defense of their region title.
Westbrook coach Jeff Bontranger was proud of the way his team battled in a game that was tightly contested on defense.
MERKEL — Nyellie Lee scored a game-high 19 points and the Eula girls basketball team held Ira scoreless in the first quarter in a 64-26 win in a Region II-1A bi-district game Tuesday night at Badger Gymnasium.
The win came on coach Josh Fostel’s 44th birthday, marking the second day in a row an area coach earned a playoff win on his birthday in Merkel.
Eula led 18-0 after the opening quarter and scored the first 21 points of the game in rolling to the easy win.
STERLING CITY — The Coahoma girls may have rewritten the book on how to do things the hard way in Tuesday’s 3A bi-district matchup with Ballinger, rallying twice to defeat the Lady Cats 49-47 at Sterling City High School.
Isabella Cox scored 21 points while Madison Rogers, Shae Lange and Baylor Wright added seven apiece to lead Coahoma (23-10), which advances to face perennial power Brock in the area round.
Photos courtesy of Lyndel Moody/Coahoma ISD
Raheem Ashford loves basketball.
If the senior isn’t playing the sport for Coahoma, he’s probably watching a game on television. If he’s not doing that, he’s likely playing NBA 2K.
“Basketball is what I do in my free time,” Ashford said. “I’m just strictly a basketball guy. I ran track last year and I’ve tried baseball, but I feel like basketball is the only sport for me.”
Anson football coach and athletic director Chris Hagler announced on Tuesday morning that he would be resigning from his post at the end of the school year.
Hagler, who has led the Tigers since the 2014-15 school year, confirmed his departure in a phone call Tuesday afternoon with Big Country Preps.
He compiled a record of 50-42 in eight years leading the Anson program, which was his first career head coaching job. Continue reading “BREAKING: Anson’s Hagler stepping down as football coach, athletic director”
In a video released on Monday afternoon, Abilene Independent School District Superintendent Dr. David Young announced several upgrades coming to both high schools and Shotwell Stadium.
During a specially called meeting on Feb. 10, AISD school board members voted to use surplus funds from the school district to update the facilities at Abilene High and Cooper as well as the Shotwell Stadium pressbox.
These are in addition to a new video scoreboard at Shotwell Stadium in the north end zone that will be similar in appearance to the one in place at Wylie’s Hugh Sandifer Stadium.
ANSON — With the performance of their defense, the Anson girls had plenty of time to settle in offensively in Monday’s 2A bi-district matchup with Seymour.
But as it turned out, the Lady Tigers got enough production to walk away with a lopsided 55-29 win at Graham High School.
Mattie Dollar scored a game-high 22 points and Gracie Feagan added 14 more to lead Anson (23-7), which now advances to face Lipan on Thursday in Eastland.
LUBBOCK — The Wylie girls basketball team saw its season come to an end Monday with a 55-45 loss to Canyon Randall in a Region I-5A bi-district matchup at Lubbock Estacado.
The loss ends a strong stretch for the Lady Bulldogs, who rallied from an 0-3 start to District 4-5A play with wins in five of their last seven district games to reach the postseason. Randall, the District 3-5A runner-up, was the first unranked opponent to beat Wylie during its 5-3 season-ending run.
WHS, which will graduate only one senior, closed its season at 15-18, while Randall (22-12) will advance to take on the winner of El Paso El Dorado and El Paso Bowie in the area round later this week.
GRAHAM — If there was any mystery involved in Monday’s Class 4A bi-district matchup between Stephenville and Iowa Park, it was answered in the first eight minutes at Graham High School.
Using a 19-4 first-quarter run, the Honeybees remained in control from start to finish in a 60-33 win.
Mya Wesley scored 20 points and Mya Wilson added 17 more to pace Stephenville (25-10), which limited Iowa Park to three field goals in the first 13 minutes of play. The Honeybees (25-9) now advance to face top-ranked Argyle (33-0) at 6 p.m. on Thursday in Weatherford.
HAMLIN — Later this week, the Munday girls basketball team will compete in the area round of the playoffs for the fifth time since 2015. But this trip will taste just a little bit sweeter for the Mogulettes, who defeated Rotan 37-25 in the bi-district round Monday to secure their first playoff win since 2012.
MHS, which drew byes through the first round in each of its last four trips to the area round, including in 2020 and 2021, will reach that point having already tasted postseason victory this year.
And first-year Munday coach Brad Johnson expects that to be a confidence booster heading into the next game against the winner of Tuesday’s matchup between Eula and Ira.
MERKEL — The Highland girls basketball team had a simple directive from coach Kyle Johnson for its Region II-1A bi-district game against May on Monday at Merkel’s Badger Gymnasium.
Win.
The Lady Hornets listened and, after a sluggish start, dominated the Lady Tigers for a 42-18 win on Johnson’s 45th birthday.
MERKEL — The Hermleigh girls basketball team has been a perennial contender for the state tournament in Duane Hopper’s first four years at the program’s helm.
Monday night, the Lady Cardinals started their run towards a third tournament berth in Hopper’s fifth year with a 75-18 win over Baird at Merkel’s Badger Gymnasium.
During Hopper’s tenure, the Lady Cardinals have lost to Nazareth in the state semifinals twice and had two more appearances in the regional final.
With big numbers spaced over three games, Wall senior guard Jacob Richardson claims the Capital Farm Credit/BCP Player of the Week award for the week ending Feb. 12.
Helping the Hawks to clinch a District 6-3A title with a 3-0 mark, Richardson poured in an average of 26.7 points in wins over Clyde, Ballinger and San Angelo TLCA.
After recognizing the top pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders that the Big Country softball scene has to offer, we close our position ranking series with a celebration of versatility.
For the final installment in our five-part series, we take a look at the top utility players, ranking our top-10 multi-position standouts with some others to watch in 2022.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these lists and encourage you to come back next week when we’ll feature the top baseball players in the Big Country.
After spending the first three days of our softball position rankings series in the dirt, we move the grass for Day 4.
For the penultimate installment of our five-part series, we take a look at the top outfielders in the Big Country, ranking our top 10 with others to watch in 2022.
We hope you enjoy our list.
When Harrison Foster’s basketball days are over, he’ll be able to say he left Sweetwater’s program better than he found it.
That could be as early as Tuesday because the Mustangs must knock off Levelland to have a chance at a play-in game against Snyder for the final 3-4A playoff berth.
Regardless of how it plays out, there’s no denying the impact Foster has made on a young team that’s won 17 games this year.
Claire Graham is focused on enjoying the moment.
As Jim Ned’s lone senior, she knows more than most about the challenges that lay ahead in a difficult Region I-3A.
But Graham also is aware of the keys to district and postseason success. The Lady Indians’ leadership is a main reason why they’ll head to the playoffs with a 30-1 record and No. 5 state ranking.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Winters-Forsan boys basketball (81 images)”
After highlighting the top pitchers and catchers on the Big Country softball scene the past two nights, it’s time to turn our attention to the field.
For the third installment in our five-part position rankings series, we list our top-10 infielders in the area for the 2022 season.
We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.
Here are the updated Big Country girls basketball playoff pairings, results through March 5
Continue reading “Big Country girls basketball playoff pairings, results (March 5)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Lubbock Monterey-Wylie boys basketball (80 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Lubbock Cooper at Abilene Cooper boys basketball (58 images)”
Hosting Lubbock Monterey with a chance to pull into a tie atop the District 4-5A standings, the Wylie boys basketball team couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start Friday at Bulldog Gym.
But after allowing the first nine points and falling behind 13-2 less than six minutes into the game, the Bulldogs outscored the Plainsmen 48-22 the rest of the way to earn a big 50-35 win and clinch the season sweep over Monterey.
The victory pulled Wylie into a three-way tie for first in 4-5A with Monterey and crosstown rival Cooper, setting up a big slate of games on Tuesday — the final date of the regular season.
With a two-possession lead and under a minute to play, Jalen Cherry posted up in the corner, took a pass and unleashed a 3-point attempt.
The ball hit nothing but net, cementing a 58-51 win for the Cooper Cougars over Lubbock Cooper in a raucous environment Friday night at Cougar Gym.
The shot, which sent the crowd into a frenzy and pulled the Cougars into a tie for the District 4-5A lead, was one Cooper coach Bryan Conover didn’t mind seeing one of his four seniors take. Continue reading “GAME STORY: Cooper Cougars move within one win of District 4-5A championship”
FORSAN — A early dose of defense and a knack for answering every challenge brought the Winters Blizzards one step closer to a possible District 8-2A championship on Friday night with a 53-36 win at Forsan.
Chaney Bahlman scored 19 points and Aiden Leamon added 11 more to lift Winters (20-12, 7-2) which can win the district title if it defeats second-place Coleman on the road on Tuesday night.
Holding Forsan to just two field goals in the first seven minutes, the Blizzards raced out to a 19-5 lead and never led by fewer than five points for the rest of the evening.
After kicking off our softball position rankings series with the pitchers on Thursday, we now shift our attention to their battery mates.
For the second installment in our five-part series, we rank the area’s top-five catchers with others to watch for in 2022.
We hope you enjoy our list.
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Breckenridge-Wichita Falls City View girls basketball (57 images)”
With softball season kicking off next week, it’s time to take a look at the players we’ll be writing about and you’ll be reading about throughout the 2022 campaign.
For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area softball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s top pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this spring.
We hope you enjoy reading through our list.
Each Thursday night, Big Country Preps will publish area boys and girls basketball statistical leaders.
This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the remainder of the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Teams that do not submit their statistics in a given week will not be listed when our stats are posted, but will be added to the lists below as they are received in the coming days.
Below are the final regular season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball in 2022.
This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.
Photos by Jose Jimenez/Snyder News.
There’s no denying that Snyder’s Eber Murillo is one of the Big Country’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
But labeling Murillo, who averages 21.2 points a game, as purely a scorer doesn’t do the senior justice.
Tigers coach Lee Scott depends on the 6-foot-4 Murillo to defend the opponent’s best player, whether it be a guard or forward. He leads Snyder in both rebounds and blocks.
Reagan Mejia participates in football, basketball, baseball, golf and tennis for Class 2A San Saba High School. But the Armadillos’ senior loves basketball.
“He has such a high basketball IQ because he loves the game,” San Saba boys’ coach Mark Kyle said of the 5-foot-10 guard. “He loves competing in all those sports, but he’s special in basketball. You don’t see many football players that are gym rats like he is. It’s not a burden for him to take 300 extra shots a day. He loves it.”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: Cooper-Wylie basketball doubleheader (60 images)”
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Continue reading “PHOTO GALLERY: San Angelo Central-Abilene High basketball (66 images)”
Needing a win over crosstown rival Wylie to avoid its fourth loss in five games, the Cooper boys basketball team played about as well as it could for 26 of the 32 minutes Tuesday. But after going up 45-24 with about 5:40 remaining in the game, the Cougars had to stave off a furious Bulldog rally to get out of Wylie’s gym with a 53-48 victory.
Cooper, which still led by 18 with 2:19 to play, saw its advantage trimmed to four (52-48) with just over five seconds remaining. But the Coogs did just enough from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to avoid collapse and pull out an important District 2-6A win.
The Wylie girls basketball team overcame a slow start to pull away for a 49-27 win over Cooper on Tuesday, clinching third place in District 4-5A with its fifth win in seven games.
The Lady Bulldogs, who opened league play at 0-3, finished with a flourish, routing their crosstown rival at home one night after locking up a playoff berth with a 38-35 win at Lubbock High.
Sophomores Micayla Reed and Indiah Maroney both had 14 points in Tuesday’s victory, helping to make Kenyah Maroney’s Senior Night a victorious one.
BRECKENRIDGE — Having already escaped with a narrow 39-38 win at City View on Jan. 14, Breckenridge girls coach Bryan Goehring fully expected a slugfest in Tuesday’s rematch with the final playoff seed on the line.
He got precisely that, in a come-from-behind 36-31 win to claim the No. 4 seed in District 7-3A.
Destiny Jamison scored nine points while Jady Gonzales and Camila Palacios added eight each to lead Breckenridge (20-14, 6-6) which will be facing District 8 champion Peaster (31-4) in the bi-district round.
Battling through four ties and seven lead changes, the Lady Buckaroos overcame their final deficit with a 7-0 run over the final three minutes. This, after blowing a 29-23 lead which they held with 6:05 to play.
A hard-fought, emotionally draining 58-56 weather-delayed, road win over Midland High on Monday night meant the Abilene High boys basketball team still had partial control over its playoff destiny.
The win, though, took a toll on the Eagles, who fell behind 14-0 to San Angelo Central on Tuesday night at Eagle Gym, creating a hole that Justin Reese’s squad couldn’t dig out of.
Central used the fast start and controlled the game the whole night on its way to a 65-48 win that, when coupled with Odessa Permian’s 39-37 win over Midland Legacy, clinched the final playoff berth in District 2-6A.
LUBBOCK — The Cooper boys basketball team dropped a tough one at Lubbock Coronado on Monday, losing to the Mustangs 50-47 to fall out of a three-way tie for first place in District 4-5A.
The Cougars, who were tied with Lubbock Monterey and Wylie entering the day, moved to 17-10 overall and 4-3 in league play with their third loss in four games.
The setback leaves coach Bryan Conover’s team a game back of the district co-leaders, in a tie with Lubbock Cooper for third heading into Tuesday’s game against crosstown rival Wylie.