The Bowie Lady Rabbits survived a fourth quarter rally against Peaster on Monday in the bi-district playoff game at Graham.
The Lady Rabbits pulled ahead in the final seconds thanks to some clutch free throws to win 56-54 after dominating for three quarters against the Lady Greyhounds.
Bowie came in as underdogs from outside observers, with Peaster’s only two losses in the last 14 games coming against state-ranked Brock.
The Lady Rabbits played zone defense that trapped shooters in the corners and converged anytime a Peaster player tried to drive into the lane. After an early basket from the Lady Greyhounds in the first minute and half, Bowie shut them down the rest of the quarter.
The Lady Rabbits forced many turnovers or errant passes out of bounds. Open perimeter shots were heavily contested. Outside of one sequence Peaster grabbed two offensive rebounds, Bowie rebounded pretty well.
Peaster tried to press the Lady Rabbits when they could as the front of its press featured long athletes who were troublesome to pass around. Still, the Lady Greyhounds were not able to set it up only scoring once all quarter.
In the half-court Peaster played an aggressive perimeter focused zone defense. The Lady Greyhounds were trying to jump pass lanes and slanted its defense to whatever side the ball was on.
Bowie exploited this with post player Hope Jones inside, who was left one-on-one with not much help coming. She scored twice inside in the first quarter and much more as the game wore on.
The other hole was the player left open on the weak side perimeter. If a Lady Rabbits made the risky pass all the way to the other side, that player was either open for a 3-point shot or was able to drive by a late defender coming to close in on them.
Brysen Richey made a 3-point shot and while it was not a big lead, Bowie led 7-2 heading into second quarter.
Things picked up offensively for both teams. Despite how physical the game was being played, not many fouls were being called for either team in the first half.
The Lady Rabbits more than doubled their points in the first three minutes of the second quarter before Peaster scored its second basket of the game. Jasmine Jones came off the bench at one point in the quarter, scoring five points and grabbing some rebounds to keep Bowie’s lead climbing.
The Lady Greyhounds finally made a 3-pointer before the half was up, but the mostly underclassmen team was showing their age as the Lady Rabbits poised and physical play had them leading 24-13 at halftime.
Peaster had called off its press defense for a large chunk of the second quarter, but decided to come out in the third looking to press.
Bowie attacked the press, getting through the long front line with little trouble. The Lady Rabbits got the ball to Jones, who was able to finish at the basket before the rest of the defense could set up as she scored six points in the quarter.
Things started picking up in intensity on both sides. A double-technical was called at one point as the physical play led to frustration for the Lady Greyhounds as Bowie’s lead continued to grow.
As large as 16 points at one point, the Lady Rabbits went into the fourth quarter leading 37-23 as it looked like they would coast to a well played double-digit win.
Peaster would not go out without a fight. Freshman guards Payton Hull and Brooklyn Bosher had only combined to score 16 points in the first three quarters as the Lady Grehounds tried to play within the offensive structure, which led to a lot of turnovers or contested shots.
In the fourth these two players went off, coming to score 27 points. Hull made three 3-pointers and got to the line several times while Bosher started knocking in mid-range shots and finishing at the rim.
Bowie was still scoring at its normal pace, but the Lady Greyhounds were coming in hot. The intensity was up even more and both teams were rewarded with free throw attempts neither were getting in the first half. The Lady Rabbits were not making them at a good clip while Peaster kept getting closer and closer.
The Lady Greyhounds cut it to one point 46-45 with 3:15 left in the game. In the next minute Bowie would get itself some room as Taygon Jones knocked in a pair of free throws, Jones scored on a mid-range shot and Abbi Gamblin scored on a layup after a steal from Jayci Logan.
The Lady Rabbits led 52-45 with two minutes left and looked like they might have just survived a scare.
Peaster would not go away. Hull quickly earned herself a trip to the free throw line and made both. Bowie was trying to stall, but back-to-back steals were converted to baskets, including one with a foul that tied the game at 52-52 when the Lady Greyhounds knocked down the free throw with 53 seconds left.
Trying to keep up its aggressive run, Peaster accidently fouled Logan immediately after on the inbound’s play. She made one of two to immediately give the Lady Rabbits the lead back 53-52 with 51 seconds left.
The Lady Greyhounds then took back the lead on a layup with 30 seconds left. After breaking the press, Bowie got the ball to Gamblin who was fouled on her shot attempt with 22 seconds left.
Even after a time out that tried to freeze her at the line, Gamblin made both free throws to give the lead back to the Lady Rabbits 55-54.
Peaster got some shots off around the basket, but they did not go in. The Lady Greyhounds were able to keep possession as the ball bounced all over. With the the play threatening to get out of control, Peaster’s coach called a time out with six seconds left to draw up a final play.
Bowie did a great job of covering on defense as the Lady Greyhounds did not inbound within five seconds, turning the ball over to the Lady Rabbits.
Richey was fouled with four seconds left and sent to the free throw line, making the first but missing the second shot.
Peaster could still win with a 3-pointer as the team raced up the court. The shot was a just inside of the half-court logo shot on a run that proved too strong. The Lady Rabbits won 56-54.
Things do not get any easier. The Lady Rabbits next play Cisco at Mineral Wells on Friday. The Lady Loboes were ranked 24th in the state in the last Texas Association of Basketball Coach poll, with their last loss coming in 2019.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.