Author: Evan Ren

by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: And yet another Gaylor takes our weekly accolade

A week after Lipan’s Court Gaylor took our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award, yet another Lipan player has done the same thing. 

And by sheer coincidence, her last name is Gaylor as well. 

This time around it is freshman guard Sydni Gaylor, Court’s Younger sister, who has taken the accolade after leading the LHS girls to a Class 2A Division II state title in San Antonio on Thursday. 

Helping the Lady Indians to a 42-35 over perennial power Martin’s Mill, Sydni finished with 23 points and was voted by attending media as the game’s MVP. 

And the good news (at least for Lipan) is, this kid is only a freshman. 

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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 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 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 Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Wall uses big second-half run to eliminate Coahoma (box score included)

BIG SPRING —If the rankings are correct, the Wall Lady Hawks are not only the top Class 3A team in the state, but they’ve now beaten two of the top three teams in the span of three days.

Their latest victim: The Coahoma Bulldoggettes, who entered Friday’s Region I-3A DII championship ranked second by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, only to fall 56-42 to the Lady Hawks. 

Four Wall players scored in double-digits at the Dorothy Garrett Coliseum, with Jewels Johnson and Kathrine Lewis leading the way with 14 and 12 points respectively.  Kenzzie Covert and Brynlee Graves added 10 each as the Lady Hawks improved to 35-3. 

Wall, which  toppled third-ranked Idalou in the regional semis on Tuesday, now advance to face sixth-ranked Paradise (33-4) in the state semifinals.  This will be a rematch of a previous meeting between the two teams, won by Wall, 55-37 on Dec. 30.

Coahoma closed its season at 34-2, led by Addison Schmidt with a game-high 19 points and Bree Lewis with 13.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Damron plays through pain, helps Eula to regional title win over Hermleigh

BIG SPRING — Long-time Eula basketball coach Josh Fostel may have never envisioned himself as a boxing “cut man.” But after standout senior Emma Damron was tripped up and face-planted in the third quarter, the EHS mentor was quickly pressed into service.

His efforts paid off — so much so that Damron (despite leaking blood out of a nasty gash over her left eye) led the Lady Pirates to a 58-44 win over Hermleigh in the Region II-1A DII championship game at Dorothy Garrett Coliseum.

Damron, with Fostel periodically toweling the blood from her face and adjusting her bandage, finished with a game-high 27 points to lift the Lady Pirates (37-2). They will now advance to face either Spur or Bordon County in the state semifinals.  

Hermleigh closed its season at 34-3, led by Kolbie Campbell with 13 points and Syreah Callaway with nine.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Wall uses suffocating defense to get past perennial power Idalou (box score included)

SNYDER — It may not have been the prettiest brand of basketball ever displayed. But Tuesday’s 35-25 win by the Wall Lady Hawks over Idalou in a Region I-3A DII semifinal, was in its own way, noteworthy. 

Using a crushing halfcourt defense which all but stymied the third-ranked Lady Cats, top-ranked Wall limited Idalou to six points or less in each of the first three quarters, all the while gradually building a nine-point lead to carry into the final period.

The cushion was more than enough for a Wall defense which had allowed a grand total of just five field goals through the first three quarters.

McKenzie Lopez had a game-high 19 points and Jewels Johnson added seven more to lead Wall (34-3), which advances to play Coahoma (34-1) for the regional title on Friday at 6 p.m. at Howard College.  Karsyn Lutrick finished with 14 points for Idalou, which closed its season at 30-5.

“We preach defense every single day,” Wall coach Silas Crisler said. “And when the challenge is at its highest and at its biggest moment, our kids continue to show up over and over again.”

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Maidens fall victim to Shallowater rally (box score included)

SNYDER — If one searches for a turning point in Tuesday’s Region I-3A DI semifinal between Comanche and Shallowater, it’s easy enough to spot. 

With Comanche seemingly in control, leading 31-19 with 1:49 left in the second quarter, Shallowater closed the half on a 6-0 run to pull within six. From the moment that run started to the end of the game, the Fillies outscored Comanche 51-29 to walk away with a 70-60 win at the West Texas College Coliseum. 

Linley Wright scored 23 points, Keelie Williams scored 17 and Carlie Buckley added 14 more to lift Shallowater (27-7), which advances to face Bushland for the regional title. 

Comanche closed its season at 22-11, led by J’Lee Salinas with 16 points, Kaysi Wilcox and Emily Sierra with nine and Dakota Dudley with eight. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco junior earns this week’s award

When Cisco junior guard Carter Toof is on his game, there is little one can do to stop him. He’s going to get his point, whether you like it or not. 

That was the case last week when Toof helped Cisco to a win over Abilene TLCA with 43 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He followed that with 20 points, seven boards, four assists and three steals in a playoff warmup loss to Benjamin. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Wall uses big second half to overcome Tolar

Tolar’s Jaycee Jones attempts to drive past Wall’s Maci Wagoner in Friday’s 3A DII area round game at Baird High School. Jones led Tolar with 18 points.

BAIRD — After watching his team suffer through an ice-cold start in Friday’s Region I-3A DII area round game against Tolar, Wall girls basketball coach Silas Crisler called a timeout at the 4:24 mark of the first quarter, trailing 11-2. 

However, his message to his players was far less tactical than it was soothing, giving them a moment to collect themselves. It worked. In fact it worked so well, that by the end of the quarter the Lady Hawks had cut the gap to 12-9 and eventually won, 58-42 at the Baird High School Gym.

Jewels Johnson scored 22 points and hit two 3-pointers and Katherine Lewis added 11 more points with two 3s to lead top-ranked Wall (33-3), which now advances to face No. 3 Idalou in the regional semifinals. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Gordon uses aggressive defense to eliminate troublesome Aspermont

ABILENE — Call it a tale of two halves. 

For 16 minutes — two full quarters, — 17th-ranked Aspermont went toe-to-toe with top-ranked, undefeated Gordon and trailed by two at the break. Then it happened: The game did a virtual about-face with Gordon stymying the Lady Hornets in the third quarter en route to a 53-37 win in a Region II-1A DII area round game at Hardin-Simmons University. 

Grace Garnett scored a game-high 18 points with five 3-pointers to lead Gordon (32-0), which now advances to face either Robert Lee or Grandfalls-Royalty in the regional semifinals. 

Aspermont (32-5) was led by Emilee Silva with 12 points. Maleah Hecht and Matti Polk had seven each. 

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026: Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 19.  With the end of the regular season, this will be the FINAL boys basketball leaders we post this year. 

This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Sterling City attacks the glass to overcome Roscoe

COLORADO CITY — For the better part of three quarters, the Roscoe girls were able to use their quickness to maintain a slim lead over Sterling City in Tuesday’s Region I-2A DI bi-district game at Colorado City High School. 

There was just one problem: The much-larger Lady Eagles were continually pounding the offensive glass and gradually erased a nine-point second-half deficit to come away with a 51-46 win. 

Avery Clark scored 16 points, Charley Jo Wilson had 14 points and nine boards and Christina Geary had 13 points and nine boards to lead Sterling City (23-9), which trailed 31-22 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.

The Lady Eagles now advance to face Smyer in the area round. 

Roscoe finished its season at 21-11, led by Ava Burrell with 19 points and Chasity Rangel with 12. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Clyde freshman captures this week’s award

Aside from being a traditional area area power in softball, the Clyde Lady Bulldogs are known for getting off to fast starts every spring and quickly establishing the fact that they’re a team to be reckoned with. 

But this year, with freshman pitcher Brynli Reynolds making a major splash, Clyde is not only good, it’s scary good.

At this point, the Lady Bulldogs are 3-0, with wins over good teams from Hawley (8-1), Littlefield (10-0) and most recently, over three-time defending 3A state champion Coahoma (7-0). 

Reynolds, who has taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, tossed a no-hitter in the Hawley win. And in 21 innings of work last week, she allowed only one earned run on seven hits with — get this — 51 strikeouts. Yes, you read that correctly. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Jayton overcomes determined Roscoe team, noisy crowd to get tough nondistrict road win

Roscoe’s Jace Arnwine looks for an open teammate in the second half of Friday’s game with Jayton with JHS’ Tucker Scott applying defensive pressure.

ROSCOE — With two-time defending Class 1A state champion Jayton coming to town to face 18th-ranked 2A Roscoe, Friday’s non-district boys game was bound to create a special atmosphere. 

And it did just that, as the Jaybirds slipped past the Plowboys 58-54 in front of a raucous crowd at the Roscoe Collegiate Special Events Center.

Colt Gentry scored 21 points, Bode Ham had 13 and Sean Stanaland added 12 more to lead the top-ranked Jaybirds (18-3), who never trailed and maintained a shaky lead from the 4:33 mark of the first quarter until the final horn. 

Roscoe (31-2), which remained within striking distance throughout the game, was led by Jarrell Best with 22 points and Aiden Brown with 18.

Both clubs walked away from the matchup feeling as though they had benefitted from it — especially with postseason play set to start on Feb. 23. 

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 12): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 12. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

FINAL Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders for 2026 (Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks)

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 12. This will be our FINAL girls stat leaders for 2026.

This database has been continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville sweeps Glen Rose in varsity doubleheader

STEPHENVILLE — With area rival Glen Rose paying them a visit on Tuesday, the Stephenville Honey Bees and Yellow Jackets made the most of the annual occasion by sweeping a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gymnasium. 

In the case of the Honey Bees (20-12, 5-5) their 30-19 win changed nothing in the way of playoff seeding. SHS remains a No. 2 seed and will face Wolfforth Frenship next week in the bi-district round.  For the Stephenville boys, however, Tuesday’s 63-37 victory kept the Yellow Jackets (28-3, 6-2) in the hunt for a possible District 6-4A title. 

The ‘Jackets will play host to league-leading Brock (22-9, 7-1) on Friday with a chance of grabbing a piece of the district lead. 

The Glen Rose girls fell to 20-16 and 5-5; while its boys team slipped out of a first-place tie with Brock to 20-10 and 6-2. The Tigers, however, can still land in a three-way tie for first in the event of a Stephenville win over Brock.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche senior takes this week’s award

Comanche senior J’Lee Salinas is no stranger to BCP accolades, having already won our Player of the Week award as well as being named to our All-Big Country Preps team. 

Well, she’s done it again after helping Comanche sweep district mates Millsap and Peaster — taking our Player of the Week award for the week ending Feb. 7.

Salinas had a solid week with a double-double in a win against Millsap (83-27), finishing with 24 points,10 rebounds, four assists and six steals.

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: A look at the top games for this week and last week

With the regular season concluding this week, we take a final look around the area, both the top games of last week and those coming up. 

Keep an eye out for the postseason pairings for both girls and boys basketball on BigCountryPreps.com — both of which will be posted in the near future. 

Lets dive in, shall we? 

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hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 5): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Feb. 12. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Feb. 5): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Feb. 5. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

SIGNING DAY: Gordon seniors headline area signees for 2025-26

Of all the Big Country area collegiate signees in the 2025-26 school year, what would the odds be for two of them to be from a tiny school from the six-man ranks? And what would the odds be that both would sign to participate in two sports?

What are the odds that they would have the same last name yet be of no relation? And what would the odds be that both would play in the prestigeous Military Appreciation Bowl in Frisco on Dec. 21 (featuring several of the top players in the country)?

Would the planets have to be aligned for both of them to be among the top academic athletes in the Big Country? Or for them both to sign with separate military academies to participate as two-sport athletes at the DI level? 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Age-old rivals Brownwood and Stephenville split varsity doubleheader

STEPHENVILLE — With archrival Brownwood paying Stephenville a visit on Tuesday the storylines in both ends of a varsity doubleheader at Gandy Gym were quite similar: A heavily-favored, district title contender facing a stubborn rival still battling for a playoff spot.

There were few surprises. 

In the opener, the Brownwood girls (ranked eighth by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) used clutch shooting and steady defense to put Stephenville away, 46-32. The SHS boys returned the favor in the nightcap, taking advantage of Brownwood turnovers and foul trouble to hand the Lions a 79-43 loss.

With the win, the Brownwood girls (27-4, 7-1 District 6-4A) remained within a game of league-leading Brock, which the Lady Lions will meet on Feb. 10.  The Stephenville boys (26-3, 4-2) remained within two games of first-place Glen Rose. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tolar sophomore takes this week’s spotlight

With weather postponements forcing Tolar to play three games last week, there was positive in an otherwise hectic week: It gave one of THS’ athletes the opportunity to showcase a remarkable run of consistency. 

Tolar sophomore Atley Kolb takes our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 31, after posting three straight double-doubles in as many days to help the Lady Rattlers in wins over Millsap (57-25), Eastland (59-25) and Breckenridge (74-19).

Kolb posted 10 points and 13 rebounds against Millsap; 21 points and 11 boards against Eastland and 12 points and 10 boards in the Breckenridge win. 

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: It’s nail-biting time in Big Country hoops with playoff spots on the line

With January’s schedule-jumbling weather behind us, we now look forward to multiple games with playoff implications around the Big Country Preps coverage area. 

There were no shortage of big matchups last week and as usual, there are several more in the days ahead.

So let’s take a quick look at the menu for Feb. 2-6. 

It should be fun, I’ll see you on the road. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Ballinger sweeps archrival Winters in varsity doubleheader

WINTERS  — Separated by only 16 miles along Highway 83, Ballinger and Winters have shared an athletic rivalry that predates the Great Depression.

The latest chapter in this intense matchup was written Friday night when BHS swept its neighbor in a varsity basketball doubleheader at the Winters High School Gym. 

The Ballinger girls opened the twin bill with a 51-26 win, after which the BHS boys took the nightcap, 68-54. 

Both wins were particularly important for Ballinger in District 8-2A, with the girls improving to 23-4 overall and 6-3 in the district race. 

The BHS boys, in the meantime, lifted their overall mark to 16-11 and remained in strong playoff contention by improving their district mark to 5-3.

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Hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 29): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 29. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 29): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

 Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan.29. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco junior earns this week’s accolade

You have to appreciate a player who can contribute big numbers in several different ways. And in the case of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week, such players have an advantage when it comes to taking down our weekly award. 

This time around, it’s Cisco junior Owen Kilpatrick, who posted a triple-double in a 74-38 win over Abilene TLCA, finishing with 18 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN’S 2025 TRUE GRIT TEAM: The toughest, hardest-working players in the Big Country!

Most high school football teams have that one player acknowledged by the coaching staff as the prime example of what a teammate should be. 

He’s the guy who seldom misses any practice time and is a regular in the weight room. He’s early to arrive. He’s late to leave and takes pride in being coachable, though he seldom needs direction. 

He always sets the right example for younger players. He doesn’t complain and, above all else, he’s tough enough to make all the aforementioned traits consistently possible. 

Know someone like that? Here is where they are honored. 

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by Evan Ren

2025 All-Big Country Preps Superlatives: Player of the year, Offensive, Defensive and special teams MVPs, top newcomers and Coach of the Year

Here are our superlative award winners for the 2023 All-Big Country Preps football team. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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by Evan Ren

2025 BIG COUNTRY PREPS RISING STARS TEAM: The top underclassmen in the Big Country

Here are our selections for the 2024 All-Big Country Preps Rising Stars Team — an honor reserved for the area’s top freshman and sophomore football players. For the rest of this year’s selections, click the links below.

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hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Boys Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 22): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country boys basketball through Jan.22. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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hoops
by Evan Ren

Big Country Girls Basketball Statistical Leaders (through Jan. 22): Scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, FT Pct., pass deflections and blocks

Below are the current season statistical leaders for Big Country girls basketball through Jan. 22. 

This database will be continually updated for our subscribers throughout the regular season, using only those statistics submitted by area coaches.

Is your favorite team missing? If so, please pass along a friendly reminder to your coach to check his or her email for our weekly stats request. We’ll be happy to add them to our database after they arrive. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: French foreign exchange student takes this week’s accolade with quadruple-double

Ysée Le Borgne may feel like a fish out of water living in Ballinger, Texas. After all, the 16-year-old foreign exchange student and native of Lille, France is more than 5,000 miles and (needless to say), a major cultural shift away from her hometown. 

On the basketball court, however, the 6-foot sophomore guard is right at home — so much so that she earned our Big Country Preps Player of Week for the week ending Jan. 17 with a rare quadruple double. 

Le Borgne, who opened the week with a 24-point, 14-rebound double-double in a loss to Colorado City, showed the potential for a “quad” that night with seven steals, six pass deflections and four blocks. 

Three days later it happened in a 43-32 win over Coleman that saw Le Borne finish with 23 points, 12 boards, 10 steals and 10 pass deflections. 

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by Evan Ren

THIS WEEK IN GIRLS BASKETBALL: This week’s top games, last week’s top results and our biggest surprise

As we arrive in mid-January, this year’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape with multiple games throughout the area have a direct impact on seeding. 

Tonight we take a look at some of those matchups, along with the top results from last week and the area’s biggest surprise. 

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