ANSON — Some unusual sounds were audible in Anson on Thursday and Friday, coming in the form of unified voices, chanting something completely foreign to rural Texas.
How foreign? About 8,400 miles worth.
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! … Oi! Oi! Oi! Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! … Oi! Oi! Oi!
The Eula girls basketball team picked up a pair of wins over Clyde and Tolar on Thursday to move into this afternoon’s semifinals of the annual Eula Holiday Classic.
Eula had an opening round 46-34 win over Clyde before closing the opening day’s action by knocking off the Lady Rattlers 56-46.
The Lady Pirates will be joined in the semifinals by Christoval, a 50-49 quarterfinal winner over Eastland.
Eastland started the tournament with a 15-point win over Ballinger (41-26) before the narrow loss.
Christoval scored eight points in the final minute — including a buzzer-beater to win — to rally from a seven-point deficit to win.
Eastland coach Patrick Blount was disappointed in the final score, but said it didn’t change anything that his team had done all day.
Top Upcoming Matchups: With teams across Texas enjoying a five-day holiday break, this week’s Big Country action doesn’t begin until Dec. 27. And nowhere in the area will things get more heated than in the 16-team bracket in the always-tough Eula Holiday Classic.
Several of the Big Country’s top small-school girls teams will take part in the event, including fourth-ranked Class 2A Haskell (15-1) and an uber-athletic, albeit unranked team from Stamford (13-6).
No. 19 Colorado City (12-3) will be there, as will other Class 3A toughies from Merkel (14-8), Eastland (12-4) and Ballinger (11-7).
RISING STAR — This had all the warning signs of a trap game for Huckabay. Going on the road to take on a Rising Star team with a winning record, this was one the No. 11 Lady Indians who are in a three-way race for the district crown against No. 5 Lipan and No. 24 Gorman.
Fortunately for Huckabay, its press defense and fast-break offense were too much for the Lady Cats to handle as the Lady Indians cruised to a 45-17 victory.
HURST — For three quarters on Friday night at Blue Raider Gymnasium, the Abilene High girls basketball team looked poised to pull off a massive upset.
Hurst Bell entered the District 3-6A contest at 18-1 overall and 3-0 in district, but it was AHS that was in the cat bird’s seat, holding a 39-34 lead after three quarters.
The fourth quarter was a different story as Class 6A’s 23rd-ranked Lady Raiders steamed past the Lady Eagles for a 60-48 win.
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BROWNWOOD — The Wylie girls basketball team got off to a slow start offensively against Brownwood’s signature zone on Friday, but a 20-10 run through the second quarter fueled the Lady Bulldogs to a 48-36 win over their former district rival.
Coach Amy Powell’s team trailed 6-0 three minutes in and scored just four points through the game’s first seven minutes, but it was able to close the period on a 5-0 run, getting a 3-pointer from Kalilah Modest to take its first lead at 9-6.
That paved the way for a dominant second quarter that proved to be the difference in the outcome.
ROSCOE — After a two-year stretch plagued with injuries and inexperience that saw them post a combined record of 12-42, the Roscoe Plowgirls have rediscovered the game of basketball.
And in the process, the Big Country is rediscovering the Roscoe Plowgirls, who at 9-7, are on pace to win more games this season than the two previous years combined. This, with two key players injured who are both set to return to the lineup after Christmas.
In their final Capital Farm Credit Wednesday Night Podcast of 2018, Big Country Preps’ Evan Ren and Daniel Youngblood look back at Albany and Brock’s state semifinal losses, take a look at the area players who did — and didn’t — make the Associated Press all-state teams and talk about some of the top boys and girls basketball story lines of the early season.
GORMAN — When UIL realignment comes out, there’s always that one district people label the ‘District of Doom.’ District 19-1A is a strong candidate for that designation in its classification.
With three teams — No. 5 Lipan, No. 11 Huckabay and No. 24 Gorman — ranked in the top 25 and just four playoff spots available, every game is important.
Eking out a 43-40 victory during the final minute of the game Tuesday, the Lipan Lady Indians survived an upset bid from Gorman in the district opener to get an early leg up in the league race.
In his first district basketball game at Eagle Gym in 22 years, first-year Abilene High coach Justin Reese saw his team have every opportunity to get off to a 1-0 start in District 3-6A play against North Richland Hills Richland on Tuesday night.
Instead, the Eagles went 10-of-18 from the free throw line from the fourth quarter on and the Rebels escaped with a thrilling 67-65 win in double overtime.
CISCO — The rapid starts of the Cisco girls and boys basketball teams continued unabated on Tuesday, in back-to-back blowout wins over visiting Early.
The girls opened the District 6-3A doubleheader at Ray Saunders gym with a 71-31 win. The Cisco boys took the night cap, 82-32.
In Game 1, Avery Lewis poured in 18 points and Leigh Anne Montell added 12 more to lift the Lady Loboes (18-2, 3-0), who haven’t lost since Nov. 19.
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STEPHENVILLE — The Stephenville girls basketball team lived up to its No. 5 ranking Tuesday, downing Wylie 55-44 in a clash of former district rivals to improve to 15-3 on the year and hand a strong Lady Bulldogs squad its first loss in six games.
The Honeybees, winners of eight of their last nine games, grabbed the momentum early and never let it go, leading the game from start to finish.
Stephenville scored the game’s first two buckets and rode an outstanding defensive performance to an eight-point halftime advantage it would protect the rest of the way.
Top Upcoming Matchups: The Wylie Lady Bulldogs (12-4) will take on the Stephenville Honey Bees (14-2) on the road on Tuesday in what should be a highly entertaining matchup in an electric atmosphere.
Haskell travels to face Roby on the road on Tuesday night, which could be highly entertaining if the Lady Lions can compensate for some key injuries.
GOLDTHWAITE — The best rivalries are the ones that can transition from sport to sport. The Battle of the River between Goldthwaite and San Saba is one of those few.
Behind 10 points from both Linzey Maxcey and Courtnee Cash, the No. 6 San Saba Lady Armadillos were able to put away the No. 22 Goldthwaite Lady Eagles in a 47-36 victory that was hotly contested throughout.
The Abilene High Eagles didn’t have to wait long to avenge their 69-65 overtime loss to crosstown rival Cooper. Just one week to be exact.
AHS overcame a 27-23 halftime deficit with a strong third quarter and poured it on the fourth on their way to a 63-52 win Friday at Eagle Gym. The victory capped a 2-0 week against fellow Abilene high schools.
The Eagles, who went 0-3 at last week’s Catclaw Classic, edged Wylie 52-49 in a nondistrict thriller Tuesday, providing some positive momentum heading into Friday’s game with Cooper.
ROSCOE — If the Forsan Lady Buffaloes went into Friday’s game at Roscoe as a heavy favorite, someone forgot to give the Plowgirls the memo.
At the very least, Roscoe gave a team expected by many to do some postseason damage a major test, falling 44-39 in a seesaw game that saw the momentum turn on a dime several times.
Macey Evans scored 17 points and Emily Garcia added 13 more to lead Forsan (13-5), which saw separate leads of eight and 13 points nearly evaporate in the face of two second-half runs by the Plowgirls.
ROSCOE — A fast start in the first quarter was the difference in the game Tuesday as the Roscoe Plowgirls fended off the Highland Lady Hornets for a 41-30 victory.
The Plowgirls started the game hot, outscoring Highland 19-3 in the first quarter. Senior Bonnie Wilkinson led the early charge, scoring seven points during the first quarter.
Wilkinson suffered a lower leg injury late in the period, however, which would halt Roscoe’s momentum. Highland outscored Roscoe 12-4 in the second quarter to trim the Plowgirls’ lead to 23-15 at halftime.
STAMFORD — With one roster filled with freshman and another still rusty after a lengthy football season, the Stamford Bulldogs may have gone into Tuesday’s doubleheader with Eula as an unranked underdog two times over.
By evening’s end, however, it was the Pirates walking the plank — not once, but twice in a girls-boys sweep that saw SHS notch wins of 38-34 and 59-52, respectively.
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The Abilene High girls basketball team opened District 3-6A play on a winning note Tuesday, outlasting Euless Trinity for a 40-38 win at Eagle Gym.
Trailing 13-8 after a quarter, the Lady Eagles rallied to tie the game at 20-all by halftime. And with the game still tied heading into the fourth period, AHS outscored the Lady Trojans 10-8 over the final eight minutes to escape with the two-point win.
Is it possible for the planets to align for a team that started the season at 0-5?
For the time being, Albany quarterback Ben West has helped create a situation where they just might.
Our Big Country Preps Player of the Week had a monster game in Albany’s 41-27 win over Hamlin on Friday, leading the Lions to the Region II-2A Division II title.
Finishing 16 of 21 through the air for 269 yards and five touchdowns, West also recovered a fumble and returned it 45 yards for another TD to help the Lions (9-5) to their ninth straight win.
Through 18 years of consistency and patience at four different schools, Haskell girls basketball coach Blake Eddleman reached a significant milestone on Friday, collecting his 300th career victory with a 63-23 win at Archer City.
Eddleman, who is currently 160-39 in seven years at Haskell, went into this year’s Wildcat Classic in Archer City needing three victories to hit the 300 mark. The Maidens got him there in as many games, sweeping Wichita Falls High (62-42), Wichita Falls City View (98-14) and the host team in their first three contests.
Georgia Montes hit eight 3-pointers Tuesday, and the Abilene High Lady Eagles needed every one of them to escape Eagle Gym with a 57-56 overtime win over Odessa High.
Montes finished with a game-high 24 points to pace AHS, which outscored the Lady Bronchos 8-7 over the extra period to improve to 8-8 on the season.
COLORADO CITY — Defensive stops and preventing Midland Greenwood from getting to the foul line were the 1-2 punch used by the Colorado City Lady Wolves in a 50-29 win in the first game of a girls-boys doubleheader on Tuesday.
Kaci Hudson scored 22 points and Mia Monroe added 18 more to lead the Lady Wolves (10-2), who raced out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed throughout the game.
HAMLIN — Trailing by 12 points at halftime, the Hamlin girls basketball team outscored Seymour 21-12 in the second half, but the rally wasn’t enough in a 36-33 loss.
This game was a rematch from Nov. 15, when Seymour defeated Hamlin 42-35 at the Randall Murray Classic in Seymour.
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Wylie guards Skylar Williams and Abbey Henson put on a show Tuesday, combining for 53 points to fuel the Lady Bulldogs to a 75-39 win over Merkel in a nondistrict game at Bulldog Gym.
Williams poured in a game-high 27 points while Henson followed with 26 to help Wylie improve to 10-4 with its third straight win and fifth victory in its last six games.
Merkel, which was outscored 55-25 over the final three quarters, was led by Alyssa O’Malley with 13 points and Kaydi Pursuley with 10.
Big Country Preps Player of the Week isn’t strictly about numbers.
Sometimes, drama can be the deciding factor. And in that regard, Hamlin’s Jackson Sepeda takes home this week’s Oscar after helping Hamlin to an incredible 21-18 win over heavily favored Wellington — one of the biggest upsets the Big Country has seen in the last decade.
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LUBBOCK — The Cooper boys basketball team continued its strong start to the season Tuesday, rallying from seven points down at halftime to knock off Lubbock Estacado 70-65.
The Cougars took the lead with a 27-17 third-quarter run and held off the Matadors in the fourth to improve to 4-1 on the year.
Deven Bailey once again led the Coogs, scoring a team-high 21 points for the second straight game, while Ben Thompson added 13, Josh Henry and Noah Garcia both scored nine, and Kaden Davis pitched in eight.
HASKELL — Down 22-20 to start the fourth quarter, the fourth-ranked Haskell Maidens scored 15 points over the final eight minutes to knock off the upset-minded Eula Lady Pirates in a 35-29 victory at the legendary Tee Pee.
Leading the way for the Maidens (7-1) was freshmen Melody Martinez, whose five-point outburst late in the fourth quarter helped put away Eula for good. C’Era Taylor, meanwhile, had a team-high eight points and two rebounds for Haskell.
BROWNWOOD — A big night from the 3-point line and some timely defense were enough to lift the Class 3A Jim Ned Lady Indians to a 54-44 win at Class 4A Brownwood on Tuesday.
Libby Tutt scored 20 points and Jenna Moore added 12 (via four 3-pointers) to lift Jim Ned (7-3), which maintained a fluctuating lead from as much as 17 to as little as six points, by coming up with key defensive stops along the way.
The Lady Indians connected on eight 3-pointers as a team, with Malone Graham hitting two, Claire Graham hitting one and Tutt adding another.
Brownwood, which slipped to 4-5, got 13 points from Matyha Thompson, six from Hadley Monroe and five from Ryleigh Dalleh.
Aside from having what might be the single greatest hairdo in Big Country history (next to mine, of course), Hawley running back Colton Marshall closed a remarkable season on Friday, with yet another remarkable game.
Rushing 36 times in a heartbreaking 37-36 loss to Sundown in the Region I-2A Division I area round, Marshall charted 213 yards and five touchdowns.
With that performance, he finished the season with 282 carries for 1,935 yards and 27 scores, helping the Bearcats to a 10-2 record and earning our Big Country Preps Player of the Week.
Playing their crosstown rival for the second time in five days, the Abilene High Lady Eagles had far more trouble with Cooper on Tuesday than they had in the previous meeting, but coach Terri Aston’s team still managed to come away with a 38-35 win at Eagle Gym.
AHS, which routed Cooper 61-38 in a winners bracket consolation semifinal in the Polk-Key City Classic on Friday, needed a fourth-quarter rally to edge the Lady Cougars on Tuesday.
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TUSCOLA — The Jim Ned girls basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better start to its nondistrict game against Wylie on Tuesday. But when momentum shifted in the Lady Bulldogs’ direction late in the first quarter, it never came back in a 54-47 loss for the home-standing Lady Indians.
Coach Hunter Cooley’s squad raced out to a 10-3 lead in the first 2½ minutes and stretched it to 19-8 by the 2:03 mark of the first quarter. But the Lady Bulldogs closed the period on an 11-0 run, getting a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 19-all heading into the second.
Wylie (6-3) then outscored Jim Ned 30-19 over the next two quarters to take control and held off a late run in the fourth to return to Abilene with the fifth victory in its last six games.
CLYDE — After 16 combined years of working as a varsity assistant and junior high coach, along with an 0-3 start this year, first-year Clyde girls basketball coach Nellie Parrish was more than ready to get her first career varsity win.
It came Tuesday night in a 45-26 win over Comanche in a Class-3A nondistrict matchup at the Bulldog gym.
HERMLEIGH — After following last year’s state tournament appearance with a hot start to this season, the Hermleigh girls basketball team has caught the attention of many as the fourth-ranked team in Class 1A. After Monday’s win over No. 14 Roby, the Lady Cardinals solidified their place as the team to beat in this region.
Hermleigh (9-1), which connected on seven 3-pointers and had three players reach double figures, dominated the top-15 matchup, topping the Lady Lions 56-43.
When Cooper sophomore Noah Garcia was last seen at Shotwell Stadium, he was leaving the Cougars’ regular-season finale against Amarillo High on a stretcher.
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound running back had just taken a hard hit near the line of scrimmage and spent several minutes face down on the turf awaiting and receiving medical care.
But the thumbs up he gave the crowd as he was wheeled away from worried coaches, teammates and family members seemed to offer assurance that he would be back at some point to help the team he’d been so good for to that point. Little did anyone know that would occur just one week later.
Not only was Garcia back for the Coogs’ playoff opener at El Paso Eastwood, he was good enough in their 49-41 bi-district victory to earn Big Country Preps Player of the Week honors for the first time this season.
The Wylie girls basketball team finally met its match in the championship game of the Polk-Key City Classic, falling 67-57 to private school power Dallas Bishop Lynch in Saturday’s title game to finish one win shy of defending last year’s crown at Hardin-Simmons’ Mabee Complex.
Jim Ned, meanwhile, bounced back from its semifinal loss to the Lady Friars on Friday to cruise past Odessa High 58-36 and take third place for the second year in a row in Texas’ longest-running girls basketball tournament.
Bishop Lynch completed a perfect 4-0 run through the PKC field, defeating the tournament’s two most recent champions — the Lady Bulldogs and Lady Indians — to do it. Tournament MVP Endyia Rogers was a catalyst in both of those victories, following Friday’s 16-point effort against Jim Ned with 26 points in the title game Saturday.
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The Wylie girls basketball team will play for the Polk-Key City Classic championship on Saturday after winning both of its games Friday, while Jim Ned just missed an opportunity to serve as the Lady Bulldogs’ title game opponent.
Coach Amy Powell’s squad defeated El Paso Burges 63-47 and Odessa High 51-28 to earn a spot in the championship round against Dallas Bishop Lynch, which came from behind to defeat Jim Ned 60-51 in Friday’s other semifinal.
The Lady Indians earned their spot in the semis with a 47-39 win over Abilene High, which rebounded to defeat Cooper 61-38 to earn a spot in Saturday’s fifth-place game against San Antonio Stevens.
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Big Country girls basketball teams combined to post a 4-1 record on the opening day of the Polk-Key City Classic on Thursday, which saw Jim Ned, Cooper, Abilene High and Wylie cruise to comfortable victories and Sweetwater drop a close one to San Antonio Stevens.
Jim Ned got the day started with a 52-26 win over Lubbock Coronado at Hardin-Simmons’ Mabee Complex, where Cooper followed with a 51-37 win over Little River Academy. Abilene High and Wylie then took care of business on their home courts, routing El Paso Franklin (53-26) and Salado (64-25), respectively, to join the Lady Indians and Lady Cougars in Friday’s winners bracket.
Sweetwater had a chance to win its tournament opener, playing Stevens to a tie early in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Falcons pulled away late for a 54-46 win at Abilene High’s Eagle Gym.
Continue reading “Big Country teams strong on first day of Polk-Key City Classic”
The Cooper boys basketball team knocked down 13 3-pointers Tuesday in a 68-56 win over Abilene Christian at Cougar Gym.
Josh Henry led the barrage, hitting five treys on his way to a team-high 19 points, while Deven Bailey, Jose Rodriguez and Desean McDonald combined for six 3s in scoring 11 points each. Ben Thompson also had a productive night, scoring eight points for the Coogs.
ACHS, meanwhile, was led by Sterling Weilert, who hit three 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points.
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After falling 47-37 to Goldthwaite on Saturday, the No. 15 Eula girls basketball team needed to rebound for a Top-15 matchup Tuesday night against the surging Gorman Lady Panthers. To say the Lady Pirates were able to rebound is an understatement.
Behind a double-double performance from center Abby Matties and the hot hand of Kailey Fenton, Eula was able to overcome a slow start to defeat No. 12 Gorman 47-23.