Month: February 2024

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Hot-shooting Newcastle calls on a familiar face to end Westbrook’s playoff run

SAN ANTONIO — It took one of the Big Country’s own to finally end the dramatic postseason run for Westbrook. 

Mattie Dollar, who was the Big Country Preps Newcomer of the Year as a freshman at Anson in 2022, charted a game-high 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting (61 percent) to lead second-ranked Newcastle to a 59-37 win over WHS in Thursday’s Class 1A girls state semifinal at the Alamodome.

Dollar and company now advance to face Turkey Valley (37-2) in Saturday’s 1A state title game at 8:30 a.m. in the same venue.

Unranked Westbrook closed its season at 28-10, with Tae Morris scoring a team-high 17 points and Raenee Rich adding 11. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

CLASS 2A STATE PREVIEW: Goldthwaite set for showdown with No. 4 Martin’s Mill in first state appearance since 2000

It’s been more than 20 years since a Goldthwaite girls basketball team last played in a state tournament. 

The Lady Eagles’ opponent for Friday morning’s Class 2A state semifinal, fourth-ranked Martin’s Mill, has closed 17 of the past 19 seasons at state, including each of the last four.

Considered an underdog by many, GHS will be at significant disadvantage to the Lady Mustangs (34-5) where state tournament experience is concerned, a fact coach Angie Hermesmeyer readily acknowledges. But the longtime Goldthwaite mentor feels her team matches up favorably in several other key areas.

To show that, though, the No. 8 Lady Eagles (34-3) will first need to prove they can handle the pomp and circumstance of the state tournament environment, something Hermesmeyer feels could be as big a challenge as the formidable Martin’s Mill squad itself.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Holliday pulls away in fourth quarter to spoil spirited effort by Jim Ned

HASKELL — The Jim Ned boys basketball team rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull within a single possession on a pair of occasions Tuesday in its Region I-3A quarterfinal matchup with the eighth-ranked Holliday Eagles.

But trailing by a narrow 32-30 margin with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Indians ran out of gas in a 57-38 loss at the Haskell High School gym.

Jim Ned, which fell behind 10-0 to start the game and faced a 30-19 deficit at halftime, trailed just 39-34 heading into the final quarter. But fueled by 6-foot-8 standout Keitenn Bristow, who had eight of his game-high 20 points in the final quarter, the Eagles closed the game on an 18-4 run to advance to the Region I-3A tournament and end the Indians’ season at 27-9.

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 1A STATE PREVIEW: Westbrook set to face Newcastle in state semifinals

WESTBROOK — The unranked Westbrook girls basketball team has been too busy fighting for its playoff survival to worry about the next step in the ladder. 

Since a 73-31 blowout win over Cross Plains in the bi-district round, Westbrook has been walking a postseason tightrope that included narrow wins over Roby (31-27), No. 18 Harrold (54-48), No. 22 Irion County (47-44) and most recently, fourth-ranked Eula (38-35) to clinch the second trip to the state tournament in school history and the second since 2021. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Robert Lee earns first regional tournament trip since 1995 with dominant win over Garden City

SAN ANGELO — There was bound to be a party on the corner of Hamilton Street and 13th Street in Robert Lee on Tuesday night after the Steers punched their first ticket to the regional tournament since making it to the state semifinals in 1995.

The Steers earned that right with a strong second half against Garden City as they claimed a 45-31 win at Stephens Arena in the Junell Center on the campus of Angelo State University.

Unlike the first two matchups between the District 11-1A rivals, won by RLHS 49-44 in January and 45-38 by GCHS earlier this month, this was for all the marbles and a regional tournament berth.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Anson freshman takes the spotlight

It may be a little too early to label Anson freshman softball pitcher Kayme Elrod as a star in the making. But our Big Country Preps Player of the Week is off to a pretty good start.

Last week her performance was nothing short of startling, both offensively and defensively.

In the circle, Elrod finished with a 5-0 record with a five-inning no hitter, a 0.77 ERA and 46 strikeouts in 27 innings of work.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason 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-10 with others to watch in 2024. 

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading through these lists and are as excited as we are that baseball season is underway.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Baseball Position Rankings: Outfielders

For the fourth installment of our five-part baseball position rankings series, we shift our focus from the infield dirt to 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 2024.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME REPORT: Goldthwaite holds off furious fourth-quarter rally to down rival San Saba, earn state berth

BUDA — The eighth-ranked Goldthwaite girls basketball team is headed to the state tournament for the third time in program history and first since 2000, after knocking off archrival San Saba 54-50 in the Region IV-2A championship game Saturday at Buda Johnson High School. 

The Lady Eagles, who improved to 3-0 on the season against the No. 19 Lady Armadillos, used a 30-point first half to take a double-digit lead into the break and held off a furious San Saba rally in the final quarter to push their season record to 34-3.

The victory, which followed a 49-31 region semifinal win over Mumford on Friday, earns Goldthwaite a Class 2A state semifinal matchup with No. 4 Martin’s Mill (34-5) next Friday.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Shallowater stuns regional favorite Jim Ned, 43-37, to advance to state tourney

WOLFFORTH — Prior to Saturday’s Region I-3A championship game with Shallowater, the Jim Ned Lady Indians were 35-2, they had won 22 straight games and had not lost to a Class 3A team all season. 

Shallowater, on the other hand, had lost 12 times, they were without highly regarded senior Molly Salinas (knee injury) and they had been swept in two meetings with Idalou — the same Idalou team Jim Ned had blown out in Friday’s regional semifinal. 

None of this mattered on Saturday in Frenship High School’s Tiger Pit, as Shallowater stunned the favored Lady Indians 43-37 to advance to the state tournament in San Antonio. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Resilient Westbrook Lady Cats earn trip to state with dramatic come-from-behind win over Eula

SNYDER — Trailing fourth-ranked Eula by nine points more than a minute into the fourth quarter of Saturday’s Region II-1A championship game, the Westbrook Lady Cats’ season appeared to be in serious peril.

WHS had scored only 24 points to that point and had managed only five of those after going to halftime facing a 23-19 deficit.

But those who have followed Westbrook’s season closely know better than to ever count the Lady Cats out. And coach Jeff Bontrager’s squad showed why yet again, finding their stride in time to close the game on a 14-2 run, secure a dramatic 38-35 win and earn the WHS program’s second trip to the state tournament since 2021.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fourth-ranked Eula too much for No. 23 Robert Lee in 53-41 region semifinal victory

SNYDER — The Eula girls basketball team hit six 3-pointers in the first half to build a 34-22 halftime lead and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way in a 53-41 win over Robert Lee on Friday in a Region II-1A semifinal at Western Texas College Coliseum.

Using crisp passing to find open shooters against Robert Lee’s zone defense, the Lady Pirates scored 17 points in each of the first two quarters to take control by the break, and the Lady Steers never got closer than 11 points in the second half.

Emma Damron scored 22 points to lead Eula, while Laney Fostel added 13 to help the Lady Pirates overcome early foul trouble for post Nyellie Lee and guard Hailie Cauthen and advance to the regional championship game, where they’ll face off with Westbrook at 2 p.m. Saturday.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Westbrook lands final punch in back-and-forth region semifinal thriller against Irion County

SNYDER — The Westbrook girls basketball team trailed for most of the first half and on five occasions in the fourth quarter in Friday’s Region II-1A semifinal against Irion County, but a 6-2 run to close the game allowed the Lady Cats to celebrate a tense 47-44 win over the Lady Hornets at the Western Texas College Coliseum.

 In all, the game featured five ties and 11 lead changes — 10 of those in the final period. But Kenlee Gilbreath’s free throws with just over two seconds remaining increased a one-point Westbrook lead to three, and Melanie Rainey’s long 3-point attempt at the buzzer was no good, clinching the Lady Cats a spot in Saturday’s region championship game against No. 4 Eula.

The victory improved WHS to 27-9 on the season and put coach Jeff Bontrager’s squad one win away from its second state tournament appearance since 2021.

Continue reading “GAME STORY: Westbrook lands final punch in back-and-forth region semifinal thriller against Irion County” →

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jim Ned girls use overwhelming defense in regional semifinal win over Idalou

WOLFFORTH — Just how dominant was the Jim Ned defense in Friday’s 42-21 Region I-3A semifinal win over Idalou? 

Good enough to hold a team that was 29-6 coming in to only five field goals and single-digit scoring through all four quarters. 

Gracee Cooley scored 14 points and Riley Grohman added 13 more to pace Jim Ned (35-2), which has yet to lose to a Class 3A team this season.  The Lady Indians now advance to the regional title game, where they will meet Shallowater (25-12) at 1:30 p.m. at Frenship High School’s Tiger Pit. 

Idalou finished its campaign at 29-7, led by Kira Fox with seven points and Lily Moyers with six. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wichita Falls City View stuns Wall with buzzer beater in overtime

ANSON — To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell.

Slowed down on video? Still impossible.

All that mattered, however, was that the officials ruled William Jordan II released a shot a hair before the buzzer — and with it sent Wichita Falls City View on to the next round of the postseason with an astonishing 63-62 overtime win over Wall in a Region I-3A area-round game on Friday night at Tiger Gym.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Shallowater uses late run to eliminate Lady Eagles

WOLFFORTH — It was a tale of two halves in the first of two Region I-3A semifinal games on Friday at Frenship High School, with Shallowater turning the tables on Brock in a 49-36 win. 

Maggie Grimes had 14 points and Linley Wright tossed in eight more to lead Shallowater (25-12), which overcame a 21-11 deficit at the end of the first quarter by limiting a cold-shooting Lady Eagle team to only 15 points for the rest of the evening. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason 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 2024.

We hope you enjoy reading through our rankings.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jim Ned rallies to defeat Brock in 3A area-round classic

COMANCHE — Through three ties, 11 lead changes, a host of clutch plays and 32 physical minutes, the Jim Ned Indians finally emerged as a 54-49 victor in Thursday’s 3A area round game with Brock at Comanche High School. 

Carter Wood scored a game-high 15 points and Carter Lange added nine more to lead Jim Ned (27-8), which rallied from a 11-point third-quarter deficit to advance to the Region I-3A quarterfinals. 

Brock closed its season at 28-8, led by Colt Matlock with 14 points and Jacoby Boxell with 12.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Rigdon scores 60 in area round blowout, moves closer to history

ABILENE — In what’s been a normal occurrence during his first three years of high school, Benjamin’s Grayson Rigdon had another monster night for the Mustangs on Thursday night at Wylie’s Bulldog Gym.

The junior scored 60 points as the Mustangs rolled past Hermleigh 108-40 to secure a regional quarterfinal appearance against the winner of Friday’s game between Cross Plains and Knox City.

It was just another big night for Rigdon, who entered the game with the 15th-best points per game average in United States history.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Baseball Position Rankings: Catchers

After opening our baseball position rankings series with the pitchers on Wednesday, it’s time to shift our attention to their battery mates.

For the second installment in our five-part series, we celebrate the Big Country’s top catchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch in 2024.

We hope you enjoy our list.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Jim Ned boys riding wave of momentum into area-round matchup with Brock

Generally speaking, playoff games are won by (A) teams that have played consistently well throughout the season, or (B) teams playing well at the right time. After a convincing 52-29 bi-district win over Blanco on Monday night, the Jim Ned boys basketball team can claim that the best answer in this case is (C) all of the above.

From the “marathon” perspective, the Indians have put together a 26-8 season, good by any standard. Though Jim Ned finished third in District 6-3A, it had the most victories overall of any team in the very competitive league, and the Indians knocked off co-district champ Wall late in the season.

As for the “stretch-run sprint” aspect of the Indians’ season, consider this: The thumping of Blanco represented the Indians’ sixth straight victory. There are few teams in the region that are hotter than Jim Ned.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Baseball Position Rankings: Pitchers

After kicking off the spring sports season with our softball position rankings last week, it’s time to turn our attention to the the baseball field and the players you’ll be reading about throughout the 2024 campaign.

For the first installment in a five-part series that will cover all position groups on the area baseball scene, we’ll be taking a look at the Big Country’s best pitchers, ranking our top 10 with a list of others to watch this fall.

We hope you enjoy reading through our list.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Seymour plays well beyond its .500 record, eliminates Cisco 81-50

GRAHAM — Records can be deceiving. And in the case of the Seymour Panthers (16-15) that was certainly the case during Tuesday’s 81-50 win over Cisco in a Region II-2A bi-district matchup at Graham High School. 

The Panthers, who entered with a .500 record, were missing two key players during a brutal stretch that saw them start the season at 1-9 against a difficult schedule. Since then, SHS is 15-6 with a second-place finish in District 9 and five straight wins, including the Cisco victory.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Brock girls advance to region tournament with thrilling win over Wall

ABILENE — Led by Keira Mathews, who scored a game-high 24 points, the Brock girls basketball team outlasted Wall for a thrilling 49-45 win Tuesday in a Region I-3A quarterfinal matchup at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

In a game that was tight throughout, the Lady Eagles used a 9-5 run over the final 4:28 to break a 40-all tie and punch their ticket to the Region I-3A tournament, where they’ll face off with Shallowater in the semifinals on Friday.

The hard-fought win improved Brock to 27-9 on the year, while Wall closed its season at 23-8.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Nocona races to big lead then holds off Cisco rally to advance to regional semifinals

GRAHAM — If one were to rely on the “eyeball test” prior to Tuesday’s Region II-2A girls quarterfinal between 15th-ranked Cisco and No. 9 Nocona, one may have surmised that a far bigger Cisco team would be favored to eliminate the Lady Indians. 

It didn’t turn out that way. 

Utilizing a lineup with most of its players standing 5-foot-8 or smaller, the Lady Indians outquicked and outran their bigger counterparts to eliminate the Lady Loboes 56-48 at the Graham High School Gym. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Shocking end to regulation lifts Sweetwater to overtime win over Graham

With 0.11 seconds left on the clock, the Sweetwater boys basketball team was searching for a miracle against Graham on Tuesday night.

The Mustangs found it, barely.

Making the most of their second chance, Sweetwater drained a pair of free throws to tie the game before claiming a 64-60 win in overtime in a Region I-4A bi-district matchup at Wylie’s Bulldog Gym.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hawley holds off upset-minded Archer City, advances to area round with 47-40 win

BRECKENRIDGE — The Hawley boys basketball team survived its first test of the Class 2A playoffs Monday, holding off a spirited effort by fourth-seeded Archer City to claim a 47-40 bi-district win over the Wildcats at the Breckenridge ISD Athletic and Fine Arts Center.

The District 10-2A champion Bearcats found themselves down 30-29 late in the third quarter and led by just a single point with 2:29 remaining in the game. But coach Mitch Ables’ team responded to every challenge mounted by Archer City, closing the game on a 7-0 run to earn an area-round matchup with No. 10 Poolville (28-5) later this week.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Albany survives bi-district scare from Windthorst, holds on for 51-50 win

BRECKENRIDGE — Leading Windthorst by 15 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Albany boys basketball team appeared poised to cruise to a comfortable victory in its playoff opener Monday at the Breckenridge ISD Athletic and Fine Arts Center.

But a furious comeback by the Trojans left the Lions anything but comfortable over the final eight minutes of the game.

Coach Ryder Peacock’s squad found itself tied at 47-all with just over two minutes remaining and led by just a single bucket (49-47) until a pair of Wyatt Windham free throws all but iced things with 14.1 seconds to play, allowing the Lions to escape with a nerve-wracking 51-50 bi-district win.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Defense carries Jim Ned girls past Comanche and into Region I-3A semifinals

ABILENE — Just three days after the Jim Ned girls used a stifling defense to eliminate high-powered Eastland in the area round, the Lady Indians repeated that effort in a 48-24 win over Comanche in a Region I-3A quarterfinal.  

Gracie Cooley scored 16 points and Lexi Wishert added 13 more to pace Jim Ned (34-2) which now advances to face the winner of Idalou and Spearman in the Region I-3A Tournament. 

Facing a Comanche team that had been held under 50 points in only three of its 34 prior games, the Lady Indians held the Maidens to a season-low 24 points by limiting standout scorers J’Lee Salinas and Kinsey Glasgow to a combined 12 points — more than 24 points below their combined seasonal average.  It was eerily similar to Friday’s win over Eastland, in which Jim Ned held EHS’ standout Mya Wesley, the leading scorer in the Big Country at 24.2 points, to only eight.

Comanche finished its season at 31-4, with Salinas leading the Maidens with 10 points. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Merkel senior closes the curtain in a big way.

Merkel senior Kooper Darby picked the right time to post the best all-around game of his high school career. 

Playing in his final basketball game as a Merkel Badger, our Big Country Preps Player of the Week tallied a career-high 44 points to go with 16 rebounds, five assists, five steals in a 79-42 win over San Angelo Grape Creek. 

With the Badgers (17-16) missing the playoffs, Darby had a final opportunity to make an impact as a high schooler and he did — like a meteor. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

Big Country Preps Preseason Softball Position Rankings: Utility Players/Designated Players

After recognizing the top pitchers, catchers, infielders and outfielders that the Big Country softball scene has to offer, we close our position rankings 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 to watch in 2024. And as a bonus, we’ve also listed our top three designated players for the upcoming season.

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.

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