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Nocona vs Bowie ladies battle; Lady Indians win district title
In a game that had people from both communities show up in a frenzy, the Nocona Lady Indians were able to secure an un-shared district title on their rival Bowie’s home court on Tuesday.
In a low scoring defensive struggle that saw the Lady Rabbits lead for most of the game, the Lady Indians were able to come out ahead 38-34.
The stakes coming into the game could not have been higher. With Bowie one game back in the standings, a Lady Rabbit win would mean the teams would share the district title along with Childress.
Fans came out of the woodwork as Bowie’s student section was easily the most energetic it has been all season, ready at any moment to shout the cliché, but effective “You can’t do that” chant on every foul call.
As if things could not have been more high stakes, the Lady Rabbits were missing head coach Chuck Hall from the sidelines on Tuesday for unspecified reasons. Assistant Coach Jaimie Hickey assumed the role as head coach in the team’s biggest game of the year. Also it was senior night.
Both teams came out and knocked in three-pointers in the first minute and half to start the game, but soon the game settled into a slow pace that Bowie favors.
Nocona’s Averee Kleinhans was able to push the ball in transition to get some baskets and to the free throw line, but opportunities were few and far between for her.
The Lady Rabbits try to work from inside out, which usually means getting the ball to leading scorer Hope Howard, and going from there. The Lady Indians made sure Howard had no where to go for most of the game after she caught the ball in the post. At some points three defenders would closer her off forcing her to pass out.
Nocona’s plan of running the offense through Kleinhans while her and Trystin Fenoglio shared ball handling duties, Bowie tried to take away Fenoglio. They left Aslyn Davis on Kleinhans for most of the game to make her earn every point and limit her playmaking opportunities.
Both of these defensive approaches worked for the most part. Kleinhans scored eight of the teams 10 points while the Jackrabbits got a smattering of scoring from three players while controlling the tempo. Nocona led 10-9 heading into the second quarter.
Bowie came out in a press defense to start the second quarter. While it did not force many turnovers, it did enough to disrupt the Lady Indians offense for most of the quarter. They invited Kleinhans to shoot and would have a defender there to contest every shot or bring help on her drives to the basket. Nocona was limited to six points in the quarter.
Offensively, the Lady Rabbits continued to grind out possessions with long sequences of passing. Baskets from four different players from a variety of different spots on the court, including another three-pointer, allowed Bowie to take a small 19-16 lead at halftime.
For the large majority of the third quarter, it was all the Lady Rabbits. Everyone on Bowie’s side from the players on the bench to the crowd cheered every good thing that happened. For a mostly defensive team that has had its issues during the season scoring the ball, some games energy and enthusiasm has been lacking, but there was no excuse for it Tuesday night.
The defense continued to frustrate Kleinhans while shutting everyone else out, while the offense scored in big ways. The Lady Rabbits established the biggest lead of the game 29-19, punctuated with two three-pointers and the ref warning Kleinhans about her almost drawing a technical foul. With the crowd going crazy and the low scoring nature of the game, the lead seemed like it might be too much for the Lady Indians to overcome.
With less than two minutes to go in the third quarter, Kleinhans was subbed out so she could regain her composure. In her place Fenoglio was able to score back-to-back quick baskets with driving floaters to cut what seemed like a near insurmountable lead 10 point lead a few minutes ago to 29-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
The teams traded baskets in the opening quarter as Howard scored inside and Fenoglio made another floater. Kleinhans checked back in and Nocona was able to cut the lead to one basket 31-28 with a little less than four minutes to go.
Bowie tried to run some clock on its next two possessions, but both possessions ended with turnovers. The Lady Indians cut the lead to one point 31-30 with 1:45 to go. With her team in the bonus, Kleinhans knocked in two free throws to give Nocona its first lead since the second quarter 32-31.
The Lady Rabbits had a chance to take back the lead seconds later with a one-and-one free throw attempt, but missed the first shot. Kleinhans was sent back to the free throw line and again made both attempts to increase Nocona’s lead to 34-31 with 1:11 to go.
Bowie’s Taygon Jones was fouled and despite being a freshman, she coolly knocked in both free throws to cut the lead to 34-33 with 57 seconds left. The Lady Rabbits then tried to force a turnover with their press, but ended up having to foul Fenoglio with 34 seconds left.
Fenoglio was able to make both free throws to put the lead back up to 36-33. Bowie drew a shooting foul with 21 seconds left, but unfortunately for them could not make either shot. The Lady Rabbits Jayci Logan was able to secure the offensive rebound and Bowie got off a potential game tying three-pointer that missed the basket.
Nocona got the rebound and Kleinhans was able to make her next two free throws with eight seconds left to ice the game. The Lady Indians won 38-34.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers again made a come back win against Perrin-Whitt in a high scoring affair that ended early.
The Lady Panthers won 20-10 against the Lady Pirates, winning after six innings due to run-rule.
Saint Jo’s last game had been 12 days earlier against the same Perrin-Whitt team it had also beaten in a high-scoring game 35-20. Another win would secure the Lady Panthers district title.
Saint Jo started off the game well, scoring five runs in the first inning and one more in the top of the second inning to go up 6-0. The Lady Pirates then reeled off nine runs in the bottom of the second inning which usually would change the whole momentum of the game with them up 9-6.
Perrin-Whitt added one more run in the third inning after holding Saint Jo scoreless, which is another rare feat in the team’s history of playing the other. The Lady Pirates led 10-6 and had momentum.
Then the Lady Panthers scored six runs in the fourth inning to take the lead back. Saint Jo’s pitching and defense tightened up to not allow any more runs in the final three innings while the Lady Panthers added four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings.
It was enough to end the game early by one inning, with Saint Jo winning 20-10.
Symbri Evans and Reagan Wilson each had four RBIs to lead the team while Mercedes Diaz was second with three RBIs. The team finished with 20 hits while drawing nine walks.
Defensively, Saint Jo allowed only seven walks, a good improvement from a lot of games where the total in the double-digits while the Lady Panther defense committed four fielding errors and allowed 15 hits.
The win wrapped up a district title for the team. For the girl’s program, it is the fourth team district title this season, having already secured one in volleyball, basketball and track.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians ended their regular season on a sour note against one of the top teams in the district last week.
The Lady Indians lost to Lindsay 12-2, with the game ending after five innings due to run-rule.
Nocona was coming off of securing its first playoff appearance the previous week, but knew it would be tested against a Lady Knights team they had previously lost to handily in late March. The Lady Indians hoped they could competed better and try to treat the game like a playoff game.
Lindsay led after the first inning 1-0. Nocona came back in the second inning with two runs scored by RBI singles from Ashlynn Brown and Gwyndelyn Forsyth to take the lead 2-1. The Lady Knights tied the game with one run in the same inning to make it 2-2.
Unfortunately, the next three innings belonged to Lindsay. The Lady Knights scored six runs in the third inning to grab momentum. Lindsay then scored three runs in the fourth inning and one more in the fifth inning to end the game early due to run-rule.
The Lady Knights won 12-2.
Nocona ended with four hits while drawing six walks in the game. Lindsay finished with 11 hits and the Lady Indians committed four fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona
The Nocona Indians picked up wins against Era last week to secure their second straight playoff appearance with one more game to play.
The Indians beat the Hornets 12-5 and by run-rule 10-0 after four and half innings.
Nocona was coming off of a tough series against Muenster, losing both games, playing well in one but not the other.
The Indians knew they had a good chance to beat Era if they played up to their potential and they showed it from the first inning in game one.
Nocona rallied off seven runs in the first inning before the Hornets had even bat to put itself in a good situation to possibly end the game early.
The only downside was the Indians were not able to offensively keep up the pressure. Nocona added one run in the seventh inning, two in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
Era scored four of its five runs in the final inning to put a bit of a sour note on an Indians win that could have finished stronger as Nocona won 12-5.
Miller Jentry led the team with four RBIs while Walker Murphey and Jayce Lehde each drove in two runs. The team had 16 total hits and drew five walks.
On the mound, RJ Walker pitched three innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out seven. The defense committed three fielding errors.
While letting the Hornets off the hook in the first game, Nocona made up for it in game two.
The Indians scored seven runs in one inning again, this time it coming in the second inning. Nocona added three runs the next two innings and shut out Era to secure the win by run-rule after four and half innings. The Indians won 10-0.
Brody Langford and Murphey each drove in two runs each to lead the team. Nocona finished with 10 hits, with four going for extra base hits while Era committed three fielding errors.
On the mound, Walker pitched all five innings and allowed no runs on two hits while striking out eight and walking two. The defense committed two fielding errors.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers lost a tough game at Perrin-Whitt last week, with most of the damage coming in the sixth and final inning.
The Pirates scored eight runs in the sixth inning to win the game one inning early due to run-rule 16-6.
The Panthers were coming off an uplifting win against Bellevue that saw them come back several times the previous week on the road. Saint Jo had played Perrin-Whitt in late March and had lost both games in close fashion so the Panthers hoped this time would be a different outcome for them.
The Pirates scored four runs in the first two innings before Saint Jo answered with three runs scored in the third inning. Perrin-Whitt added one run in the same inning and three in the fourth inning.
The Panthers cut the lead down to two runs after scoring three more runs in the fifth inning, making the score 8-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo had an inning from hell, allowing eight runs on five singles, a triple, two walks and a hit batter. The final run scored ended the game early.
Perrin-Whitt won 16-6.
Charlie Barclay led the team with two RBIs while Devin Stewart, Trent Gaston, Charlie Evans and Rylan Forrester each drove in one run. Saint Jo finished with eight hits and drew seven walks.
Unfortunately, the Panthers gave up 12 hits and walked seven batters while committing two fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles only played one game last week due to weather concerns later in the week and lost to Perrin-Whitt.
The Pirates won 15-0 after four innings, winning by run-rule in a game the Eagles hopes to forget.
Bellevue had one from Brycen Bancroft and River Trail drew the only walk in a game where not much went right. Eight fielding errors from the Eagles, eight walks issues and six hits added up really fast.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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