Category: Girls basketball

by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Versatile forward Gonzales the total package for Hermleigh

The list of things Hermleigh’s Makia Gonzales can do on a basketball court is a long one.

At 6-feet tall with a diverse set of offensive and defensive skills, the junior forward can literally play or defend any of the five positions.

Those abilities were evident last year when Gonzales, as a sophomore, helped lead Hermleigh to its first state tournament appearance of the University Interscholastic League era. And they’ve been necessary this year in helping the ninth-ranked Lady Cardinals (22-5 overall, 6-0 District 13-1A) maintain that same level of play despite the loss of a couple of key players and a bigger target on their back.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Albany, Stamford, set to clash in glimpse of the future

Missy Dutchover’s Stamford  girls team has posted a 20-9 with only one senior. The Lady Bulldogs and a burgeoning team in Albany are both on a rapid ascent with very young talent.

Many of those who follow girls basketball in the Big Country are acutely aware of the highly successful program in Haskell and of its dominance in District 8-2A. 

Haskell, however, may soon have some highly competitive company within the confines of its own league â€” perhaps as early as next year.

Burgeoning programs in Albany (17-8, 5-1 District 8-2A) and Stamford (20-9, 4-2) have not only taken significant steps forward this year, but have done so with sophomore-heavy rosters that, with typical progression, could improve dramatically over the next two seasons.  

The two teams will meet in the opening game of Friday’s girls-boys doubleheader in Albany, in what could be viewed as a glimpse into the future of Big Country Class 2A girls basketball. In the present, however, a No. 2 playoff seed is the prize both young teams are after.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 30: Haskell’s Blake Eddleman talks Maiden basketball with Evan, Daniel

During his time at Haskell, Blake Eddleman has been one of the most successful girls basketball coaches in the Big Country. And with this year’s team sitting at 25-1 and ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, he may have his best Maiden team to date.

This week, Eddleman took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about the 2018-19 Haskell squad, His unique sagging man defense and the future of his program for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel talk about the biggest developments and upcoming matchups on the Big Country boys and girls basketball scene.

by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Abilene High boys score road win at Richland

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS â€” After dropping a double-overtime thriller to North Richland Hills Richland in its District 3-6A opener on Dec. 18, the Abilene High boys basketball team got the Rebels back on Tuesday.

Landon Talley scored a game-high 22 points and the Eagles outscored the Rebels 17-11 in the fourth quarter to claim a 66-60 win at Richland’s Rebel Gym.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wylie girls rout Rider to stay in 4-5A title hunt

The Wylie girls basketball team opened the second half of District 4-5A play with a dominating effort Tuesday, cruising to a 69-30 home win over Wichita Falls Rider.

The Lady Bulldogs, now 19-9 overall and 4-1 in league play, outscored the Lady Raiders 20-5 in the first quarter and never let the visitors back in the game on the way to their second blowout win over Rider.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Eula sweeps doubleheader at Baird (two videos, two box scores & photo gallery with 60 images included)

BAIRD — With two key back-court players — Mathew Ladesma and Kade Goble — out with injuries , Baird coach Jeff Campbell knew full well that the visiting Eula Pirates would do everything in their power to exploit that weakness in Tuesday’s district match-up. 

The problem was, doing something to stop them.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Cisco senior Bird takes award

Sometimes it’s not the numbers you produce, but the number of minutes you played in which to produce them. 

That was the case in choosing our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 19 â€” a seven-day stretch that was littered with top-flight performances from all over the area. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: This week in Big Country girls basketball (Jan. 20-26)

With the playoffs rapidly approaching, most girls districts have but five nights of league action remaining. 

This will be quickly followed by a night or two of tie-breaking games and the always-interesting playoff warm-ups, after which the massive UIL playoff brackets will be unveiled. 

This will all culminate in the state tournament on Feb. 28 through March 2 in the Alamodome in San Antonio. 

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by Evan Ren

EVAN REN: 40th straight win may not be the final “Tee Pee” milestone

HASKELL â€” I’m old, so I typically like things that are old. 

Old cars. Old movies. Old-style football offenses. Old-fashioned manners. Old hockey jerseys. You name it. If it’s gathering dust I’m generally going to be enamored with it.

And yes, I like old buildings. 

So when I learned last year that Haskell ISD would be replacing its basketball gymnasium, affectionately known by some as “The Tee Pee” with a more modern, comfortable facility, my first inclination was to throw an old-guy “hissy.”

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Albany, Haskell split doubleheader (w/ photo gallery, box scores)

HASKELL â€” On a night that saw the Haskell girls celebrate their 40th consecutive win at home with a 73-27 victory over Albany, it was the AHS boys who had the last laugh. 

Capping Friday’s girls-boys doubleheader with a 55-35 win over the Indians, Albany put Haskell away with a dominating 20-5 run through the fourth quarter. 

Coby Knight dropped in 17 points and Cameron Dacus added 14 more to pace the Lions (8-2, 3-0), who never trailed after the 6:30 mark of the second quarter. 

Photos may be purchased by clicking on the small shopping cart emblem beneath the lower right corner of the gallery.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Jim Ned boys stymie Merkel, take lead in District 5-3A

TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned boys basketball team beat Merkel at its own game Friday, using a zone defense to stifle the Badgers while doing enough offensively to score a 39-25 win in a matchup of District 5-3A unbeatens.

The Indians (18-5 overall, 6-0 in district) held Merkel to just two first-quarter points and built a 21-11 halftime lead before holding off a Badger rally in the second half to hand coach B.C. Lee’s squad its first district loss and take over the top spot in the 5-3A standings.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wylie boys, girls run past Wichita Falls High

A road-weary Wylie boys basketball team played just its seventh home game of the season Friday and took advantage of its home crowd in earning a 68-47 win over Wichita Falls High in a District 4-5A matchup at Bulldog Gym.

Outside of four games during the early December Catclaw Classic and a fifth against Abilene High, the Bulldogs had not played in Abilene since routing Midland Lee 60-39 on Dec. 1.

The Bulldogs’ last eight games had been played on the road.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Inexperience no roadblock for No. 9 Stephenville Honeybees

When you graduate four of five starters off the previous year’s roster, there’s always some uncertainty as to how the next team will fare.

A coach can feel good about the talent he or she has, but until those players prove themselves in their expanded roles, all projections are merely best guesses.

Such was the case this year for Stephenville girls basketball coach Alan Thorpe, who returned just four lettermen from last year’s 19-14 squad. So even he’s a bit surprised to see his Honeybees sitting at 20-6 with a top-10 ranking in Class 4A on Jan. 18.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Sophomore Roberson a quiet star for Abilene High

In most cases, being called a snake is a bad thing.

When Abilene High coach Terri Aston uses the nickname with sophomore point guard Trakeyna Roberson, it’s meant and accepted as an extreme compliment.

Roberson, who has spent the past two years establishing herself as one of the top point guards in the area, has a humility and selflessness to her game that can mask the damage she’s inflicting on the opposition. And often, it’s only after you look at the postgame stat sheet that you realize the impact AHS’ silent assassin actually had.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 29: Evan, Daniel catch up with Eastland boys basketball coach Doug Galyean

Eastland boys basketball coach Doug Galyean is in his third stint with the Mavericks after spending some time away from coaching to battle prostate cancer and returning to the sideline for brief tenures at Lingleville and Santo.

This week, Galyean took some time to talk to Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about being back on the Eastland sideline, the current state of his cancer fight and his love of the game of basketball in this week’s Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel talk about the latest developments on the Big Country basketball scene.

by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Cooper girls rally for big district win

WICHITA FALLS â€” Dazz Larkins scored 21 points and the Cooper Lady Cougars outscored Wichita Falls Rider 20-8 in the fourth quarter Tuesday to pick up a big District 5-4A win over the Lady Raiders.

Trailing 37-30 heading into the final period, coach Lauren Ash’s team rallied for the 50-45 road win to improve to 2-2 in district play and take over third place in the league standings heading into the second half of the 4-5A schedule.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Snyder boys overwhelm Greenwood at home for 20th win

SNYDER â€” The Snyder boys basketball team picked up its 20th win of the season Tuesday, and it was an important one.

The Tigers (20-6 overall) downed a strong Midland Greenwood squad 55-40 on their home floor to improve to 2-0 in District 5-4A play and take sole possession of first place in the league standings.

Coach Lee Scott’s team led from start to finish, racing out to a 13-2 lead in the opening minutes and never letting the Rangers (20-8, 1-1) get closer than six points the rest of the way.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Brock holds off archrival Peaster twice (w/ box scores, videos, photo gallery)

BROCK — As a general rule of thumb, rivalries can often trump the expected. And in Friday’s District 7-3A doubleheader between Brock and Peaster, the two archrivals gave two prime examples of this with a mild upset, followed by a near miss of what would have been a statewide shocker.

Brock (22-8, 6-2) swept the doubleheader, beginning with a 52-37 win by the girls to hand first-place Peaster (15-7, 7-1) its first loss in league play The win avenged a 41-38 loss to PHS on December 11 and pulled the Lady Eagles within a game of first place in the league standings. 

The top-ranked Brock boys (20-5, 5-0) followed with a narrow 66-60 win that saw them trailing the Greyhounds 53-52 before pulling away with a 14-7 spurt through the final three minutes of action.

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by Evan Ren

FEATURE: Smart, tough Eastland standout returns from devastating injury

EASTLAND â€” If ever there were an injury that was audible throughout the Big Country, it may have occurred in October of 2017 during an obscure fall league basketball game in Cisco between the Eastland girls and Huckabay.

With the regular season still a month away, Eastland and star player Hailee Stacy were expected by some to challenge perennial power Brock for a district title. 

Fate, however, intervened. 

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Versatile Cooper forward Bailey nabs honor

At 6-foot-5, Cooper’s Deven Bailey is used to being one of the taller players on the court. But his value to the Cougars comes as much from his versatility as his height.

The standout senior used both assets to his advantage in wins over Graham (77-75) and Wichita Falls High (64-49) and has earned our Big Country Preps Player of the Week award as a result.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: AHS girls down Weatherford for second straight win

The Abilene High girls basketball team followed up Tuesday’s win at Haltom City Haltom with 51-38 home victory over Weatherford on Friday to get back to .500 in District 3-6A play.

With both wins, the Lady Eagles (14-14 overall, 3-3 in district) are now alone in fourth place in the league standings entering the second half of 3-6A play with wins over all three teams below them.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Merkel sweeps Clyde in District 5-3A action

MERKEL — It’s not very often that the pupil gets the upper hand when taking on his teacher for the first time.

That theory gave credence to the thought that Clyde coach Marc Case might be able to lead his squad to an important District 5-3A win over Merkel on Friday at Badger Gymnasium.

Instead, B.C. Lee’s Badger squad pulled away late for a 42-33 win, spoiling any hope Case had of picking up a victory over his former player from Cooper.

The game was the first time in Case’s storied career that he ever faced off against one of his former players, and the two coaches shared a lengthy postgame embrace that had both talking about their love for their counterpart.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Hamlin, Roby split district doubleheader (w/ box scores, photo gallery)

HAMLIN â€” It wasn’t a good night for shorthanded teams on Friday in a District 14-1A doubleheader that saw Roby and Hamlin split the girls-boys twin bill. 

The Roby girls hung on to win Game 1, 40-36, over a Hamlin team that suited only seven players and played only five. The Hamlin boys returned the favor in Game 2, handing a Roby team that only suited six players a 52-20 loss.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Cooper boys, girls strong in sweep of Wichita Falls High (w/ player interviews)

Deven Bailey scored 20 points and Josh Henry added 15 on Friday to help the Cooper boys basketball team open District 4-5A play with a comfortable 64-49 home win and complete a doubleheader sweep over Wichita Falls High.

The victory capped a successful night at Cougar Gym, where earlier in the evening the Cooper girls routed the Lady Coyotes 71-29 for their first district win.

After taking an 18-13 lead into the second quarter of Friday’s late game, the Cougars outscored the Coyotes 41-19 over the next two periods, including a 23-8 run through the third, to win their third straight game and improve to 13-10 on the season.

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by Daniel Youngblood

BCP Podcast No. 28: Evan, Daniel talk Eula hoops with coach Josh Fostel

Eula boys basketball coach and athletic director Josh Fostel has built the Pirates into a perennial contender, taking them to the state championship game in 2007 and winning a title in 2011.

This week, Fostel took some time to chat with Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood about his time with the program, Eula’s annual Holiday Classic and this year’s squad for the Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast.

Also in this episode, Evan and Daniel discuss some of the more intriguing district races and interesting upcoming matchups of the Big Country boys and girls basketball season.

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Wall boys, girls pull away from Ballinger for sweep, remain unbeaten in 4-3A

BALLINGER — Entering Tuesday’s District 4-3A basketball doubleheader between Wall and Ballinger, the situations for the girls and boys games were virtually identical. 

As it turned out, the outcomes would bear striking similarities as well.

With both schools bringing a pair of unbeaten district records with them to Joe A. Forester Gymnasium, favored Wall teams got the better of their Ballinger counterparts in both contests, claiming a 52-24 win in the girls game and a 46-25 victory in the boys matchup.

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by Evan Ren

Big Country Preps Player of the Week: Haskell’s Taylor, Hanson share first honor of ’19

Landry Hanson (C’Era Taylor shown above)

One of the biggest challenges with any Player of the Week column is breaking ties between comparable or equally impactful performances.

This is especially true when the players you’re deciding between play for the same team.

How do you decide who gave the better effort when both played key roles in the same unit’s success?

This week, we don’t.

After leading the No. 4 Haskell Maidens to a 7-0 record over the holidays, including an impressive 4-0 run through the always tough Eula Holiday Classic, junior guard Landry Hanson and senior post C’Era Taylor share our first Big Country Preps Player of the Week award of 2019.

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by Daniel Youngblood

LOCAL HOOPS ROUNDUP: Wylie girls rout Rider to open District 4-5A play

WICHITA FALLS — The Wylie girls basketball team opened District 4-5A play in dominating fashion Friday, outscoring Wichita Falls Rider 50-17 in the first half of a 78-32 drubbing.

Abbey Henson scored 20 points, while fellow guards Mary Lovelace and Madi Latham added 18 and 13 points, respectively, to help the Lady Bulldogs improved to 16-7 on the season and 1-0 in league action.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Dublin, Early split doubleheader (w/ box scores, videos and photo gallery)

DUBLIN â€” Games of sharply contrasting styles brought about opposing results in a District 6-3A basketball doubleheader in Dublin on Friday when the Early boys and girls teams paid a visit to DHS. 

A physical, foul-plagued girls game opened the evening, with Early pulling away in the second half for a 59-41 win. A high-flying up-tempo boys game followed, with Dublin outgunning the Longhorns 71-64 in the nightcap. 

A combined total of 43 team fouls and three foul outs dotted the girls stat sheet. But Early (3-18, 1-4), behind 15 points from Taylor Summers and 10 each from Alexa Portillo and Vance-Cady Gordan earned their first district win of the year.   

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Cisco sweeps Eastland in District 6-3A play

It doesn’t matter if you call it a back-and-forth game, a neck-and-neck battle, a knockdown, drag out fight or see-saw affair, all are fitting descriptions of Friday’s District 6-3A girls basketball showdown between Cisco and Eastland at Lobo Gym.

The rivals, which are separated by just 10 miles, engaged in a bitter battle that saw Cisco get enough breathing room late for a 47-43 win.

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Central boys hold off AHS to complete doubleheader sweep

A fast start and a late rally weren’t enough for the Abilene High boys basketball team on Friday as the Eagles dropped a 61-57 home decision to San Angelo Central to fall to 0-3 in District 3-6A play.

AHS extended a 19-7 first-quarter lead to 14 points in the opening minutes of the second, but the Bobcats closed the first half on a 24-8 run and stretched their lead to double digits after halftime.

The Eagles rallied to cut an 11-point deficit to four late in the third and answered another Central run with a furious comeback in the game’s final minutes, but saw their hopes dashed by a pair of Mike Bonner free throws with 4.75 seconds left on the clock.

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by Daniel Youngblood

FEATURE: Wylie guard trio forces opponents to pick their poison

Having one go-to scorer you can lean on in crunch time is a blessing for a high school basketball coach.

Having three such players you can put on the floor at the same time is a luxury few coaches can boast.

But that’s the case for first-year Wylie coach Amy Powell, who inherited three of the area’s best guards in seniors Abbey Henson, Mary Lovelace and Skylar Williams — any one of whom can take over a game when she gets hot from the field.

Catch the Lady Bulldogs on a night where all three are clicking, and watch out.

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by Daniel Youngblood

Haskell girls pull away from Lady Pirates for Eula Holiday Classic title

Trailing the tournament hosts 16-13 at halftime of the Eula Holiday Classic girls title game, the Haskell Maidens outscored the Lady Pirates 23-7 over the final two quarters Saturday to claim the championship with a 36-23 victory.

Haskell, which improved to 19-1 with the win, got 10 points from freshman Melody Martinez, nine from Landry Hanson and eight from Delaney Hanson in beating its third consecutive ranked opponent and claiming its second tournament title of the season.

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by Evan Ren

Anson Lions Club Tournament roundup

In an otherwise difficult tournament for Big Country area teams, it was the Roscoe Plowgirls who emerged with a chance at taking home a championship at the Anson Lions Club Tournament on Friday. 

Unfortunately, they had one rather large roadblock: The fifth-ranked undefeated Vega Lady Longhorns (24-0), who handed Roscoe a 58-22 loss in the title round. 

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