SPORTS
Saint Jo wins in Prairie Valley 62-35
You could call it a tale of two halves as the Saint Jo Panthers traveled to take on district opponent Prairie Valley on Tuesday night.
With the Panthers coming in confident at 3-0 with hopes of challenging for the district title, the Bulldogs were coming in off of their first district win at Forestburg hoping to ride that momentum into another win.
Despite a good showing at frustrating and slowing down Saint Jo throughout the first half, Prairie Valley eventually succumbed to the long and athletic Panthers in the third quarter and lost 62-35.
Early on, the Bulldogs were able to take control. After quickly falling behind 5-0 while getting acclimated to the Panthers relentless press defense, Prairie Valley was able to knock in some perimeter shots and matched Saint Jo’s intensity.
For the Panthers, leading scorer Preston Lyons got himself into foul trouble in the first quarter that forced him to sit. With the Bulldogs navigating Saint Jo’s press and avoiding turnovers that immediately led to baskets, Prairie Valley led 13-9 heading into the second quarter.
It did not take long for the Panthers to turn things around as they started the second quarter scoring six straight points in the first minute and half.
The threes that fell for the Bulldogs in the first quarter were not in the second quarter as they struggled to score. For Saint Jo, Lyons and Logan Morman were able to drive the lane and get to the free throw line continuously in the second quarter as they both combined to score 16 of the teams 18 points in the quarter.
The Panthers led 27-21 heading into halftime, but Prairie Valley was still very much in the game if they could start making shots or find other ways to score in the second half.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that did not happen. While the Bulldogs flirted with trying to take advantage of playing the up-tempo game Saint Jo was baiting them into playing in the first half by breaking their press, in the second half the Panthers pulled back their press to half court.
While Prairie Valley was able to avoid big runs from Saint Jo by taking care of the ball for the most part, things seemed to unwind for them in the third quarter. Passes that made it through in the first half now were getting stolen and deflected by the long arms of the Panthers.
Those turnovers were leading to fast and easy baskets. In the half court Saint Jo could do whatever they wanted offensively as some of their perimeter shots were going in and the drives to the basket seemed to be coming more open.
This led to several key Bulldog players getting into foul trouble, exacerbating their struggles on the offensive end even more.
What was a six point lead at halftime was stretched to 20 as the Panthers led 46-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
There would be no miracle comeback for Prairie Valley in front of their home crowd. With Saint Jo springing the press on them at situational moments when they were most vulnerable and with the game out of reach, things did not get better as both teams just played until the clock turned zero down the stretch.
The Panthers won 62-35.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Bellevue’s girl’s basketball team led at halftime but a quick 9-0 Jacksboro run in the opening moments of the second half would prove the difference in a 28-25 Lady Eagle loss June 15 in a Nocona Summer League game.
Leading 12-9 at the half, Bellevue continued to shut down the inside game of the Tigerettes. Jacksboro switched tactics and began firing from outside. Three 3-pointers in the span of just under two minutes gave Jacksboro an 18-12 lead.
Bellevue kept things close, however, getting on the second half scoreboard with Mattie Broussard’s basket and free throws cutting the deficit to two, 18-16. A Haven Jones 3-pointer put the Lady Eagles up 19-18 midway through the second half.
The Tigerettes had just one 3 -pointer the rest of the way but got inside for a pair of buckets to take a 25-21 lead with 4:50 to go. Both offenses shut down late.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Most school-age athletes start off playing everything. By the time they graduate, they whittle it down to just one or two.
New Bowie girl’s track and overall cross country coach Shawnda Childers is no exception. While at Iowa Park she competed in volleyball, cross country and track before cutting out volleyball and focusing on track and cross country to close out high school.
Childers did not stay with athletics while moving on to Midwestern State University, where she received her bachelor’s and master’s Degrees. After graduation, shestarted coaching in Electra. She came to Bowie for one year, then went back to her old stomping grounds in Iowa Park where she spent the next four years.
The return home also put her in contact with now-Bowie Coach Griffin Fields, who was a coach there at the time. From Iowa Park, she spent the next three years at City View.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
New Saint Jo Girl’s Basketball Coach Grant Gooch isn’t completely unfamiliar with the area.
“We went to Muenster quite a bit when I was a kid,” Gooch, who will be going into his 20th year as a coach, said. “We’d load up the cooler from the meat markets. It’s good to be back.”
Gooch worked with Saint Jo Athletic Director CJ Hantz when the pair were in Throckmorton. Gooch comes to town from Menard where he spent three years at the West Texas school.
Gooch says coaching and education kind of come naturally to him.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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