SPORTS
Panthers, Bears play at Saint Jo tourney
The Saint Jo Panthers finished with two wins in their annual tournament Nov. 29-Dec. 1 that included teams from Texas, Oklahoma and even Australia.
“For the first time in the tournament’s history, the field was not comprised of just Oklahoma and Texas schools, but a group from Australia. The experiences gained by all teams involved was immeasurable,” said Saint Jo Panthers Coach Michael Wheeler.
The Australian players stayed with families from Saint Jo while competing in the tournament.
“Five Saint Jo families were honored to play hosts to these remarkable young men. On Friday, the players shadowed students during class, providing an opportunity for discussion in regard to what a day in the life was like both here and there, simply supporting the fact that the off the court life lessons are just as valuable as the on the court ones,” said Wheeler.
The Panthers opened the tournament with a 71-30 win against Sacred Heart on Thursday. Preston Lyons powered the offense with 28 points and Brock Durham added 13.
The Panther’s only loss of the tournament came to a larger 3A school when they faced Paradise.
The second time around, Durham led the Panther’s offense with 21 points and Logan Morman put up 17.
Saint Jo wrapped up the tournament with a 60-27 win against Gold-Burg with 18 points from Lyons and 13 each from Connor Thompson and Durham. The win earned the Panthers third place.
The Gold-Burg Lady Bears also gained some valuable experience, facing tough competition in the tournament.
The Lady Bears opened the tournament against Trenton, but fell 62-32 despite 14 points from Taylor Lyons and 12 points from Kelly Contreras.
The second game of the tournament resulted in a 40-37 win for the Lady Bears against Savoy.
Contreras led the scoring with 17 points and Taylor Lyons added 12. The win was a battle for the Lady Bers, who finished the game with only four players on the court due to injuries and fouls.
However, Gold-Burg didn’t stay down long and played hard against a competitive Ryan team, who topped the Lady bears 48-17. Contreras powered the offense with 13 points and Lyons provided four points.
Teams from Montague County and others not featured in story did not turn in tournament results to the Bowie News by press time.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Lady Indians beat Saint Jo at home on Saturday morning.
The Lady Indians won 16-1 after four innings due to run-rule against the smaller school.
Nocona was coming off a competitive loss at Collinsville earlier in the week while the Lady Panthers were hoping to compete after a busy week of their athletes doing everything else besides just softball.
The Lady Indians easily won the first matchup between the teams in March, 19-2 and it was more of the same on Saturday.
Saint Jo struck first to start the game off well. Jordyn O’Neal hit a one out single. Krista Reeves followed with a walk after O’Neal had stolen second base and had advanced to third thanks to an error trying to throw her out. A wild pitch then allowed her to score to put the Lady Panthers up 1-0.
The lead did not last long. Nocona’s first two batters drew walks which set up Abby Hill to drive them both in with a single to right field.
Despite giving up a single and a walk later in the inning, Saint Jo’s defense did not allow another run. A line out and groundout to the shortstop while picking off a runner attempting to steal got the Lady Panthers out of the inning unscarred.
The Lady Indians led 2-1.
That was about as competitive as it got. In the second inning, Nocona’s bats got going. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases up with no outs.
Reagan Phipps drew a walk that drove in a run. Hill hit another two RBI single. Skye Kirby followed with a two RBI double.
After the first out, Allie Sutton drove in one run with a single. There was a fly out for out two, before a runner came in to score after a passed ball. Finally, an error allowed two more runs to score on the base paths.
Nocona had scored nine runs and led 11-1 to break the game open heading into the third inning.
Taylor Patrick hit a double, with O’Neal and Reeves following with singles. Unfortunately for Saint Jo, Patrick was thrown out before the hits attempting to steal a base so the Lady Panthers scored no runs from this.
The Lady Indians kept pouring on the runs. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases up with no outs. Tinley Cable then hit an RBI single. Shelby Swell was hit by a pitch that drove in another run.
After two strikeouts, Evelyn Marquez drove in two more runs on a double to put Nocona up 15-1, coming up one run short of ending the game early.
The Lady Indians scored that one run in the fourth inning. After Phipps drew a leadoff walk, Hill hit a triple that drove her in to end the game.
Nocona won 16-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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