Month: March 2026

by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned outlasts Wall in slugfest in District 6-3A softball opener

EULA — For the second straight season, the District 6-3A opener between the Wall and Jim Ned softball programs was impacted by the girls state basketball tournament in San Antonio.

In 2025, Wall delayed the scheduled game by one day because of the Jim Ned girls basketball team playing for a state championship. Following the season, the decision was made to push back district play by one week to avoid having the situation repeat itself — only to see the basketball season get pushed back by one week. Returning the favor from last season, Jim Ned coach Erica Jones was more than willing to push the game to Saturday.

After the massive rainstorm early Saturday morning rendered Jim Ned’s field unplayable, the programs were faced with a dilemma — find another field or postponement.

Ultimately, they moved the game to Pirate Field and played after Eula’s softball tournament concluded, and Jim Ned fended off No. 12 Wall 13-10 in an offensive slugfest under the lights. Runs were scored in every half-inning of the contest except for the top of the third.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Munday holds off Water Valley to earn first state semifinals appearance since 1985

ABILENE — With four trips to the region quarterfinals or deeper since 2019, including regional semifinals appearances in 2023 and 2025, the Munday boys basketball team has been knocking on the door of a state run for most of coach Adrian Daniel’s eight-year tenure at the school.

On Friday, the Moguls finally banged that thing down.

Facing the same Water Valley squad that eliminated them in a 46-40 heartbreaker last season, Munday stood tall against the Wildcats on Friday, overcoming a pair of extended runs to earn a 52-47 victory at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

The win advanced the Moguls to the state semifinals for the first time since 1985, matching the program’s deepest run since Munday Dunbar fell to Crane Bethune in the Prairie View Interscholastic League title game in 1961.

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by Yale Youngblood, Special to Big Country Preps

GAME STORY: Gaylor, late run propel Lipan past district rival Graford, into state semis

MINERAL WELLS — Court Gaylor scored 29 points to lead Lipan to a 51-40 victory over District 11-2A rival Graford on Friday night before a loud, sellout crowd at the Mineral Wells High School Gymnasium.

The win gave the Indians a three-game sweep of their nemesis this season and bumped their record to 37-1. They’ve now won 35 straight games.

Still, what set off the biggest celebration in the Lipan stands was affirmation that Coach Brent Gaylor’s squad remains in the hunt for the school’s third state championship in the past four years — and the fourth since the 2017-18 season.The Indians will play undefeated Gruver (23-0) at a neutral site early next week, with the winner going to San Antonio for the state title game on Thursday.

Graford finished its season with a 30-5 record.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: First-quarter run against Lubbock Cooper Liberty sends Brock to the state semifinals

CLYDE — When the boys basketball teams from Lubbock Cooper Liberty and Brock met in tournament play over the Christmas break, the Patriots held on for a 53-52 win after the Eagles closed the game on a 10-3 run.

Friday brought a rematch in the Region I-4A Division II championship game, and the two squads went toe-to-toe for 28 minutes of action at Clyde’s Bulldog Gym. But it was the other four minutes that made the difference as Brock claimed a 56-42 win.

Brock junior guard Eli Paez hit a career milestone in the first quarter when he sank a free throw for the 1,000th point of his career. He finished with a game-high 17 points as the Eagles rode a strong finish to the first quarter to the victory and into next week’s state semifinals.

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 3A DII GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Wall shuts down Nacogdoches Central Heights to win state title (box score included)

The Wall Lady Hawks pose with their state championship trophy after defeating Nacogdoches Central Heights for the 3A DII title at the Alamodome on Friday.

SAN ANTONIO — Under state championship pressure in front of a large crowd at the Alamodome, the Wall Lady Hawks called on an old friend to help them defeat Nacogdoches Central Heights 49-34 for the Class 3A Division II title on Friday. 

Their buddy: half-court defense — the same defense that limited 20 of their last 25 opponents to 40 points or less. It was again the key to a Wall win, holding Central Heights to a dismal 11-of-51 tally (21.6 percent) from the floor. That’s the same Central Heights team that defeated newly crowned 3A DI state champion Hitchcock (51-50) earlier this year.

Jewels Johnson had nine points and 10 rebounds and McKenzie Lopez had 11 points and four boards to lead Wall (37-3), which never trailed from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Johnson earned game MVP honors, adding three assists and three steals to her stat line. 

Central Heights finished at 32-6, led by Peaches Gallien with 15 points. 

“We preached (defense) all year,” Wall coach Silas Crisler said. “We preach it, preach and preach it. Because we know that offense won’t travel with you every single time.

“We want to be the toughest team in Texas and we showed that today.” 

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 2A DII GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Freshman leads Lipan past Martin’s Mill for state title (box score included)

SAN ANTONIO — The combination of great team defense, a dominating effort on the glass and an eye-popping performance from a ninth-grader lifted the Lipan Lady Indians to the Class 2A Division II state title on Thursday.

Freshman Sydni Gaylor scored a game-high 23 points while Kynzi Callaway and Skylar Harrison added seven points apiece to lead Lipan (35-5), which handed perennial power Martin’s Mill a 42-35 defeat at the Alamodome. It was the fourth state championship for Lipan in 12 state tournament appearances. 

Martin’s Mill (30-6) was led by Kara Nixon with 17 points, Teeley Salazar with seven and McKenna Wise with six.

“Win or lose, I was not ready for this season to be over,” Lipan coach Amber Branson said. “These girls are the most joyful kids I’ve ever been around. 

“And all glory goes to God, because they love each other, they love their friends, but they love Jesus even more and it shows every day..” 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

AISD TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: Local, area teams have solid showing on opening day of action

On the opening day of the Abilene ISD Invitational Tournament, Abilene High and Cooper both picked up a pair of wins while Wylie split its two games as offenses took advantage of a howling wind that was blowing out at all three ballparks during nearly all of the dozen games that were played on Thursday.

In addition to the success of the three local schools, Wall picked up wins over Arlington Sam Houston and Copperas Cove with Brock and Brownwood going a combined 1-3 — the lone win coming by Brock against Wylie.

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by Evan Ren

CLASS 1A DI GIRLS STATE CHAMPIONSHIP: Eula falls to Broaddus in rematch of last year’s title game (box score included)

SAN ANTONIO — Entering Thursday’s Class 1A Division I girls basketball state championship game with Broaddus, Eula coach Josh Fostel was concerned with two key areas — turnovers and rebounding.

As it turned out, the Lady Pirates performed reasonably well in both areas (minus-2 in turnovers and minus-5 in rebounding). Unfortunately for Eula, an unforeseen disparity at the foul line proved fatal, as the Lady Pirates were just 4 of 11 at the stripe in a 52-42 loss in the Alamodome. Broaddus, by comparison, was 15 of 29 while winning its second straight state title, both of which have come against Eula.

Kaylynn Quinney scored a game-high 22 points and Jaila Mitchell added 12 more to lead Broaddus (36-5), which overcame an early 10-4 deficit to get the win. Eula (36-3) got 18 points from Emma Damron and nine from Kamryn Franklin.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Lady Hawks edge Paradise in state semifinal thriller (box score included)

COMANCHE — Throughout the playoffs and much of the season, the Wall Lady Hawks have been able to put the opposition away with big runs, spurred on by its defense. And in Tuesday’s Class 3A DII state semifinal against Paradise, that seemed to be the case when Wall built a 12-point lead by the 6:31 mark of the fourth quarter. 

There was just one problem: Paradise didn’t get the memo. And by the 3:11 mark had cut the gap to 1 in what eventually became a nail-biting 54-51 Wall win at the Comanche ISD Special Event Center. 

Jewels Johnson scored a game-high 23 points and Kennedi Graves tossed in 15 more to lead Wall (36-3), which now advances to face Nacogdoches Central Heights (32-5) in the state championship game at 1 p.m. on Friday in the Alamodome in San Antonio.  

Paradise (33-5) was led by sisters Jayci and Hartley Barnes with 14 points apiece.  

“I told the girls that I’m speechless,” Wall coach Silas Crisler said. “Paradise is a great basketball team and (PHS coach Mike) Barnes does an excellent job. 
“They really fought. We had them down by 12 and then we had then down by seven with two minutes to go, but they kept fighting and throwing punches.” 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: New Home slips past Roscoe 66-61 to end Plowboys season in regional semis

SNYDER — After narrowly escaping their first matchup against New Home with a  65-59 win in a tournament game in December, Roscoe coach Russell Best and his Plowboys knew they’d be in for a fight in Tuesday’s Region I-2A Division II semifinal.

The second meeting proved no less competitive than its predecessor, but this time it was the Leopards who prevailed, ending Roscoe’s campaign with a thrilling 66-61 victory in front of a packed and boisterous crowd at Tiger Gym.

The Plowboys erased a nine-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game at 58 with 4:25 to play, but Zack Armes’ last of eight 3-pointers kicked off 8-2 run in the final 2:12 to lift New Home to the win in a contest that saw four ties and seven lead changes over its duration.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Luft, Preston power Ira past Robert Lee into showdown with top-ranked Jayton

ABILENE — Ira and Robert Lee entered Tuesday night’s Region II-1A Division II semifinal at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum unranked and knowing that the winner would have a tall task with top-ranked Jayton waiting for them in the regional final.

Robert Lee entered the game having won its first two playoff games this season by a combined 100 points, while the Bulldogs followed an 18-point win over Strawn to open the playoffs with a 74-72 win over Benjamin in overtime on Friday.

Tuesday night, it was Ira who jumped out to a fast start and cruised to a 51-30 win as Hudson Luft scored 29 points and Noah Preston added 16 more to send the Bulldogs to the regional championship game for the first time since 2011, when they lost to Bronte. Ira has never made it to a state semifinal.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Eula finds shooting touch in third quarter to earn berth in championship game

ABILENE — Eula senior Emma Damron didn’t pull any punches when she said that the Lady Pirates didn’t play their brand of basketball in the first half of Monday night’s Class 1A Division I state semifinal matchup against Spur at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.

The third quarter, however, saw the Lady Pirates turn things around in a hurry in a 48-34 win over the Spurettes, propelling Eula to its second consecutive state championship game as the Lady Pirates look for the first title in school history. Eula will play the winner of Tuesday’s game between Broaddus and Dodd City at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Alamodome in San Antonio for the title.

Damron, playing with five stitches above her left eye after suffering a big gash in Eula’s regional championship win over Hermleigh on Thursday, scored just nine points on Monday. But she made several crucial plays on the defensive end as EHS turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Nazareth holds off furious Gordon rally to advance to state championship game (box score included)

SNYDER — With Nazareth leading Gordon 16-5 after one quarter and seeing that lead expand to 28-13 late in the second, it wasn’t difficult to think that the Swiftettes were on the verge of dominating Monday’s Class 1A DII girls state semifinal. 

Nazareth coach Eric Schilling, however, knew better. He fully expected the top-ranked, unbeaten Lady Longhorns to make a run and that’s exactly what happened as the Swiftettes escaped the Western Texas College Coliseum with a 48-46 win. 

Kambri Cleavinger scored 20 points and Lexi Ramaekers added 14 more to lead Nazareth (32-6), which advances to the state championship game where it will meet either Saltillo or Nueces Canyon on Thursday at 1 p.m. in San Antonio’s Alamodome. 

Gordon finished its campaign at 34-1, led by Faith Garnett with a game-high 23 points. Marley Jackson and Stoney Bauer added nine and eight points respectively. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Lipan PG Gaylor nabs honor with pair of strong playoff performances

Entering the week at 35-1 and ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, the Lipan Indians have won 33 straight games since suffering their only loss of the year to Class 4A Dallas Roosevelt in mid-November.

At the heart of that success has been standout point guard Court Gaylor, who performed at a high enough level in LHS’ first two playoff games to claim our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award. 

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by Mike Lee, Special to Big Country Preps

FEATURE: Goldthwaite girls capture unlikely 3rd straight regional basketball title

Photos contributed by Terry Thompson

Jayden Stewart passes to a teammate against Burton.

GOLDTHWAITE — Expectations surrounding the Goldthwaite Lady Eagles weren’t that high this season, even though they were the two-time reigning Region IV girls’ basketball champions.

After losing seven seniors from last year’s Region IV winner, Goldthwaite did return two all-state players in juniors Kenley Howard and Rylee Greenway. A third junior, Angelica Oosthuizen, missed her entire sophomore season because of a knee injury.

But the remaining varsity spots had to be filled with players who had never played on the varsity. A 2-7 start had some locals just hoping for a playoff berth.

Once the playoffs were made with a 20-12 regular-season record, a bidistrict win followed by an area loss to state-ranked Port Aransas seemed to be Goldthwaite’s ceiling.

But last Friday, Goldthwaite beat Burton, another state-ranked opponent, 42-31, giving the Lady Eagles (24-12) their third consecutive regional championship.

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