Category: Girls basketball

by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stamford girls eliminate Windthorst, advance to 2A area round

BRECKENRIDGE — Even while holding a late lead in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s 2A bi-district matchup with Windthorst, Stamford girls basketball coach Missy Dutchover remained in attack mode. 

She never asked her Lady Bulldogs to slow tempo in order to protect the lead. If the shot was there, Stamford continued to fire away. 

The approach paid off with a 52-40 win at the Breckenridge ISD Fine Arts Center, with Tylee Joe Bevel leading the way with a game-high 19 points for SHS (16-6). Laylonna Applin added 10 points and Citlaly Gutierrez finished with seven to help lift the Lady Bulldogs, who will advance to face the Hico-Hamilton winner in the area round. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME RECAP: Wylie girls rally but come up just short in bi-district loss to Tascosa

LUBBOCK — The Wylie girls basketball team rallied from 15 down in the second half to take a lead late in the fourth quarter of its Region I-5A bi-district matchup with Amarillo Tascosa on Thursday, but the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t close out the Lady Rebels in a 72-69 loss at Lubbock Christian High School.

Wylie, which fell behind 8-0 to start the game, was forced to play catch-up for most of it. After pulling within 18-14 to end the first quarter, the Lady Bulldogs went to halftime down 37-31, before a slow start to the second half saw the deficit balloon to a game-high 15 points.

Coach Amy Powell’s squad pulled within 51-44 to start the final period and overcame an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to take a one-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. But Tascosa was able to answer the Wylie run and seal the win from the free-throw line, where the Lady Rebels went 28 of 33 for the game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Close-knit Wylie seniors bring fun, competitive edge to Lady Bulldogs

Wylie girls basketball coach Amy Powell readily admits that her team isn’t the most intimidating off the bus. The Lady Bulldogs don’t cast a particularly imposing shadow and won’t strike fear into opponents during warm-ups.

But what they are is a team in every sense of the word and what they will do is compete from tip to buzzer regardless of the opponent or in-game situation.

Those qualities, instilled in large part by an instrumental senior class, have allowed Wylie to stay in almost every game this season, despite playing one of its toughest schedules in recent memory. And though they enter the playoffs just a game over .500 at 13-12, the Lady Bulldogs do so on a mission and with the confidence of a team that knows it has the leadership, chemistry and ability to a make postseason run. 

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Stephenville’s Withers takes this week’s accolade

When you shoot 73.5 percent from the floor, you don’t have to shoot very often to create impressive numbers. 

That was the case with our Capital Farm Credit Big Country Preps Player of the Week, Landri Withers of Stephenville, who tallied 39 total points in wins over Gatesville (73-55) and Brownwood (45-27). The Honeybees (20-2) clinched the District 6-4A title with the Brownwood win, during which Withers tallied 23 points. 

She closed the week with a combined seven rebounds, 12 pass deflections and three steals. 

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Selfless Stephenville girls prepped for difficult regional bracket

STEPHENVILLE — Second-year Stephenville girls basketball coach Jason Hodges and his sixth-ranked Honeybees are about to walk into a minefield. 

Facing a Region I-4A bracket loaded with quality teams, Hodges and company have done everything they can to prep for the upcoming challenge.  It is now time to jump in and hope to survive the chaos. 

Sixth-ranked Stephenville will open against either Wichita Falls  Hirschi or Burkburnett at 7:30 p.m., on Thursday in Mineral Wells. Pushing well beyond that point is the result Hodges was hoping for through a brutal non-district slate and a difficult district schedule that had SHS battle-hardened weeks in advance. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: San Angelo Central edges Abilene High boys in overtime

SAN ANGELO — Playing their third overtime game in their last four, the Abilene High boys basketball team dropped a 46-44 slugfest to San Angelo Central on Friday, falling to 6-4 in District 2-6A in the process.

The Eagles (17-6 overall), who still hold a one-game lead on Central for third in the district standings, led 10-6 after a quarter. But the Bobcats outscored AHS 16-11 in the second quarter and 10-9 in the third to take a two-point lead into the fourth.

Down 32-30 to start the final period, the Eagles rallied to force overtime, but they were outscored 6-4 in the extra period to fall to 3-3 in their last six games.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls overcome late lull, hold off Cooper for 53-46 win

The Wylie girls basketball team led Cooper from wire to wire Friday at Cougar Gym, but despite holding an 18-point lead early in the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs needed a strong finish to fend off the Lady Lady Cougars 53-46 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Wylie, which opened the game on a 15-3 run and led 32-25 at halftime, opened the third quarter with an 11-0 spurt to push ahead 43-25 with five minutes remaining in that period. But coach Amy Powell’s squad scored just four points over the next 10 minutes as Cooper narrowed that margin to one (47-46) with a 21-4 run. 

But after the Lady Coogs missed an opportunity to take their first lead from the free-throw line with 3:03 to play, Wylie (13-12 overall) outscored coach Arsenio Geter’s team 6-0 the rest of the way to wrap up District 4-5A’s runner-up spot at 7-3 in league play.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville girls use lockdown defensive effort to top rival Brownwood

STEPHENVILLE — With sole possession of the District 6-4A championship at stake against archrival Brownwood on Friday, the Stephenville Honeybees relied on an old friend to bring the title home in the regular season finale for both clubs. 

Clinging to a 14-12 halftime lead, SHS used its tight man-to-man defense to pressure the Lady Lions into a third-quarter goose egg. The resulting 14-0 run through the period proved to be the turning point in a 45-27 win for the Honeybees (20-2, 7-1), giving them a seat atop the league standings.  

Landri Withers poured in 23 points while Mya Wilson and Alee McClendon added 11 and nine respectively to lift Stephenville, which took advantage of Tuesday’s upset of second-place Glen Rose by Lampasas to snag the title. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall takes pair of 6-3A nailbiters against Ballinger

BALLINGER — The Wall Hawks used a strong fourth quarter to fend off a Ballinger comeback attempt and claim a 49-35 District 6-3A win Friday night at Joe Forester Gymnasium.

With both squads having already clinched playoff berths, the Hawks put themselves in position to claim the outright district championship with a win over San Angelo TLCA on Tuesday.

The Bearcats, meanwhile, suffered their first home loss of the season after posting their lowest scoring game of the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Cooper boys top Coronado, take sole possession of 4-5A lead

LUBBOCK — The Cooper boys basketball team took sole possession of first place in District 4-5A on Tuesday, defeating Lubbock Coronado 69-58 while taking advantage of Lubbock Monterey’s 59-55 win over Lubbock Cooper.

The Cougars had entered the night tied with Lubbock Cooper for first, but the Pirates’ loss to the Plainsmen gives the Coogs a one-game lead with three district games to play.

Cooper (15-5 overall, 6-1 in district) led Coronado by just a point (32-31) at halftime and by just three (49-46) after three quarters Tuesday, but a 20-12 run through the fourth quarter allowed coach Bryan Conover’s squad to pull away for its third straight win and ninth in its last 10 games.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls dominant in 67-18 Senior Night win over Lubbock High

Coming off back-to-back road losses to fall out of contention for the District 4-5A title, the Wylie girls basketball team found comfort in more friendly environs Tuesday, routing Lubbock High 67-18 in its final home game of the year.

After honoring their five seniors to kick off their Senior Night festivities, the Lady Bulldogs raced out to a 20-3 first-quarter lead and increased their advantage to 32-5 by halftime before cruising in the final two quarters to the blowout win.

The victory improved Wylie to 12-12 overall and 6-3 in league play, all but locking up the No. 2 playoff seed out of District 4-5A. The Lady Bulldogs will close out the regular season Friday at Cooper (10-15, 2-7), which is in the midst of a five-game losing streak, while third-place Lubbock Coronado (10-13, 5-4) closes things out at home against district champion and eighth-ranked Lubbock Cooper (22-3, 9-0).

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stamford girls upset perennial power Haskell to open doubleheader sweep

STAMFORD — Dating all the way back to elementary school, a group of Stamford junior girls currently on the SHS varsity had been losing in basketball to a current group of junior girls from Haskell. Over and over again, they took one drubbing after another. 

That all ended on Tuesday in the first game of a varsity doubleheader at Stamford High School when the Lady Bulldogs, behind 20 points from Tylee Jo Bevel, upset the 15th-ranked Maidens 48-47 to hand Haskell (18-3, 11-1) its first district loss of the year. 

The Stamford boys claimed the nightcap, beating Haskell 46-38 to complete a varsity sweep. But it was the Stamford girls who stole the show on Tuesday, rallying to finally stop their old nemesis. 

With the score tied at 47 with no time left, Bevel drew a foul on a missed 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded. She went to the line and sank the winning free throw, but not before there was some drama. She had missed her first two shots with a rather loud contingent of Haskell students trying to distract her into a third. 

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by Evan Ren

CAPITAL FARM CREDIT/BCP PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Comanche senior takes this week’s award

After two years of struggling through graduation losses and the inexperience which followed, the Comanche Maidens are back.

Chalking up wins over Dublin (67-31) and Millsap (40-38) last week, CHS locked up a playoff berth behind two double-doubles from senior post Megan Carter. 

Her effort has earned her the Capital Farm Credit/Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the week ending Jan. 30.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Late flurry lifts Abilene High boys to improbable win at OHS

ODESSA — Trailing Odessa High by four points with six seconds remaining Friday, it appeared the Abilene High boys basketball team was headed for its second consecutive loss and third in four games. But persistence, a creative coaching decision and a little good fortune paid dividends in an improbable 65-64 overtime win.

Down 64-60 in the extra period after the teams had closed regulation tied at 53, Abilene High (16-5 overall, 5-3 in District 2-6A) started the winning sequence by sending a baseball pass down the court for a quick layup to cut the deficit to two. Coach Justin Reese then had his team force an intentional delay of game call to reset its defense, and before the ensuing inbounds play, OHS called a timeout it didn’t have for a technical foul that sent Jalen McGee to the free-throw line with a chance to tie the game.

McGee, who finished with a game-high 24 points, only made one of two, but with the technical came possession, and Nathan Watts hit a buzzer-beating layup off a long pass to lift the Eagles to the win.

https://twitter.com/ahseaglehoops/status/1355343023698284551

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Two fast starts for Wall, two Jim Ned rallies produce split doubleheader in Tuscola

TUSCOLA — A high-profile Friday doubleheader saw Jim Ned suffer two straight slow starts against Wall at Bill Thornton arena. The Jim Ned girls overcame theirs, topping their area rival 52-36. 

The boys weren’t so fortunate, falling to the Hawks 55-50, despite a frantic effort to erase an early deficit that had ballooned to 16 points by the second quarter.

On the girls side, Ashton Garner, Alexis Espinosa and Ashlynn Galvin dropped in 15, 14 and 13 points respectively to lift the 15th-ranked Lady Indians (21-2, 11-1). The win forces a first-place tie in District 6-3A with No. 14 Wall (20-3, 11-1), which suffered its first district loss of the year. 

Trailing 17-8 at the end of the first quarter and 21-13 with 4:46 left in the second, the Lady Indians closed the half on a 14-0 run and never relinquished the lead beyond that point. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Wylie boys top Coronado for second straight win

Coming off a big road win over Lubbock Monterey last week, the Wylie boys basketball team had another strong performance Tuesday, beating Lubbock Coronado 56-50 at Bulldog Gym to improve to 3-2 in District 4-5A play.

The Bulldogs (7-9 overall) moved into a third-place tie with Monterey with the victory — just a game back of co-district leaders Cooper (13-5, 4-1) and Lubbock Cooper (10-6, 4-1).

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coleman boys rally late to edge Colorado City; Lady Wolves roll to big win

COLEMAN — Clutch shooting gave the Coleman boys their first lead of the night with just over two minutes to play, and the Bluecats sealed the game at the free-throw line in a 42-38 come-from-behind win over Colorado City on Tuesday night in District 8-2A play.

Corbin Rosales had the go-ahead layup before a dagger 3-pointer by Braxton Smith gave the Bluecats an insurmountable lead as Coleman improved to 12-6 overall and 5-1 in district play, keeping pace with Winters atop the district standings.

Jalen Holloway finished with a game-high 13 points for Coleman, while Rosales and Smith each finished with 10. Mason Randle led the Wolves with nine points.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wylie guard quartet share this week’s honor

With four guards capable of leading them in scoring on a given night, the Wylie Lady Bulldogs are blessed with a diverse offensive attack. 

But that level of balance and unselfishness does come with one small downside. When it comes time to recognize those players for their accomplishments, it can be hard to differentiate between them and determine which is most deserving of being honored.

So this week, we abdicate that duty and honor all four — seniors Morgan Travis, Emma Melton and Makinlee Bacon and sophomore Caroline Steadman — as our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 23.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Jim Ned sweeps Ballinger as boys rally for OT win

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned boys basketball team didn’t take a lead on Ballinger until early in the fourth quarter on Friday night at Bill Thornton Arena, and then was forced into overtime, but came away with a key 51-47 win in District 6-3A action.

Kaden Davis led a trio of Indians in double-digits with 15 points, while Xavier Wishert and Ben Eshelman added 14 and 13, respectively.

Jonathan Delgado had a game-high 29 points for the Bearcats, who went 0-for-4 from the free-throw line in the game.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Hot-shooting Wylie girls blast Lubbock Monterey 56-29

With Lubbock Monterey’s zone defense taking away the paint Friday, the Wylie girls basketball team took to the skies and found success from long distance, knocking down 12 3-pointers in a 56-29 win at Bulldog Gym.

The Lady Bulldogs, who edged the Lady Plainsmen 48-45 on Jan. 5 in Lubbock, had no had no such trouble with Monterey the second go-round, outscoring the visitors 32-12 in the second half to turn a seven-point game at halftime into a blowout.

Five of Wylie’s seven scorers hit at least one 3, led by sophomore Caroline Steadman, who made four of her five triples in the second half to finish with a team-high 15 points.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Abilene High boys bounce back with win at Midland Lee

MIDLAND — The Abilene High boys basketball team shook off Friday’s loss to Odessa Permian to get back in the win column Tuesday, beating Midland Lee 56-42 to improve to 15-4 on the season and 4-2 in District 2-6A play.

The Eagles got off to a slow start, falling behind 11-8 after the opening quarter, but bounced back to take a 24-20 lead by halftime. After adding three more points to its lead with an 11-8 run through the third period, AHS put the game away in the fourth, outpacing Lee 21-14 for the frame.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Sweetwater girls rally in fourth for win over Big Spring

SWEETWATER — Both the Sweetwater and Big Spring girls basketball teams went into Tuesday night’s game tied for fourth place in District 3-4A and looking to get a leg up on the other one to close out the first half of district play.

Jazzy Villa made a pair of free throws coming off a technical foul between the third and fourth quarters to put the Lady Mustangs ahead and Sweetwater used a dominant defensive effort in the closing minutes to pick up a 51-47 win at Mustang Gym.

Sisters Kenzi and Kya Mitchell had 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Villa added 10 as the Lady Mustangs improved to 9-12 this year and 2-3 in District 3-4A action.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls rally past Cooper to close first half of district at 4-1

Fueled by an eight-point fourth quarter by Caroline Steadman and a solid defensive effort all around, the Wylie girls basketball team outscored Cooper 12-4 over the final eight minutes Tuesday to rally past the Lady Cougars 45-41 at Bulldog Gym.

Steadman, a sophomore guard, did all of her scoring during that stretch to help the Lady Bulldogs close out the first half of District 4-5A play at 10-10 overall and 4-1 in league action.

Cooper, which had trailed 23-20 at halftime, used a 17-11 run through the third quarter to take a 37-34 lead into the final period. But the Lady Bulldogs held the Lady Coogs to a single field goal in the fourth quarter to protect their home court against their crosstown rival.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Cisco’s Edgar is the top dog

The Cisco Loboes may have only played one game last week (beating Hamlin 76-41). But senior guard Layne Edgar made the most of it.

Scoring 39 points with a 5-of-9 tally from 3-point range, he narrowly missed a monstrous triple-double, finishing with nine rebounds and eight assists.

In his spare time, he collected six steals in a truly dominating performance worthy of our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award for the Week ending Jan. 16.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Wylie boys, girls sweep Lubbock High

The Wylie boys basketball team evened its District 4-5A record at 1-1 on Tuesday, blasting Lubbock High 50-27 at Bulldog Gym.

Trailing 12-11 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Westerners 39-15 the rest of the way to improve to 5-8 overall.

Wylie took a 24-19 lead into halftime after outpacing Lubbock High 13-7 in the second quarter, before using a 15-2 run through the third quarter to take control for good.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls come up just short in upset bid against No. 8 Lubbock Cooper

Leading No. 8 Lubbock Cooper 49-45 with 2:20 remaining Tuesday at Bulldog Gym, the Wylie girls basketball looked poised to score a big upset win and take sole possession of first place in the District 4-5A race.

Unfortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, they wouldn’t score again the rest of the way, allowing a Hannah Zientek 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining to serve as the winning points in a 52-49 loss. 

After watching the Lady Pirates tie the score with about a minute and a half to play, Wylie had a couple of opportunities to regain the lead and put additional pressure on the visitors. But the Lady Bulldogs couldn’t turn those possessions into points, and a banked-in 3 by Zientek, a junior post player, with 8.7 seconds remaining left coach Amy Powell’s squad on the losing end of a game that was tightly contested throughout.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Anson sweeps Hawley in District 10-2A action

ANSON — Anson’s Gavin Williams led a trio of players in double figures with 19 points as the Tigers picked up a 56-42 win over Hawley in District 10-2A play Tuesday night at Tiger Gym .

Dylyn Pyle had 16 points, while Lane Dollar added 13 as Anson moved to 3-1 in district action with the victory.

Williams and Pyle combined for 16 points in the third quarter as the Tigers turned a two-point halftime lead into a 45-28 advantage.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: McGee, Watts lead Eagles to blowout win at Midland High

MIDLAND — Jalen McGee scored 26 points and Nathan Watts added 20 to power the Abilene High boys basketball team to an 84-31 rout of  Midland High in a District 2-6A matchup Friday.

The Eagles (13-3 overall, 2-1 in district) led 33-21 at halftime, before outscoring the Bulldogs 27-10 in the third quarter and 24-0 in the fourth to pull way for the 53-point win.

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