SPORTS
Bowie
The Bowie Jackrabbits played their final tournament this weekend at Graham and were able to break even.
The Jackrabbits won their first two games of the tournament, but would lose their final two to finish 2-2 overall.
Bowie first played Vernon on Thursday afternoon. The Lions got an early lead in the top of the first inning, scoring one run.
The teams exchanged scoreless second and third innings, though both teams had chances to score runs.
It looked like Vernon was going to add to its lead in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. Instead, Bowie outfielder A.J. Whatley pulled off a double play, throwing the runner at third base out after catching the ball.
It was the second double-play the Jackrabbits had made in the game already to keep the lead close.
That play turned the game’s momentum as Bowies bats came alive. Kynan DeMoss and Whatley drove in runs in the fourth inning to give the Jackrabbits the lead 2-1.
The Lions looked like they might tie the game as a two out triple gave them a scoring chance in the fifth inning, but Bowie forced a third to keep the lead.
The Jackrabbits then added to their lead as DeMoss and Logan Hutson drove in two more runs to make the score 4-1.
Vernon was able to get two runners on base in the sixth inning to in an attempt to come back, but pitcher Colton Richey fielded a bunt and threw the batter out for the third and final out.
Jacob Fallis pitched all but the last inning and held the Lions to only three hits with the one run given up coming unearned.
Bowie played Glen Rose on Friday and started the game much better.
After surviving a two out triple from the Tigers in the top of the first inning, Kawlyer Swearingin and Richey both drove in runs to give the Jackrabbits an early 2-0 lead.
The highlight of the second inning came on defense as Bowie pulled off another inning ending double play. The Jackrabbits added another run in the third inning as DeMoss drove in a run on a triple with two outs, extending the lead to 3-0.
Glen Rose came back in the fourth inning, stringing together four straight hits to score two runs, cutting the lead to 3-2. That good bit of momentum the Tigers conjured was short lived as Bowie responded in the same inning.
Devin Melton drove in two runs on a double. An error allowed him to reach third base, where he would later score due to a passed ball. DeMoss later drove in a run on a single.
Later in the inning hits from Troy Kesey and Hutson led to Glen Rose committing errors in the field, allowing the Jackrabbits to score two more runs. Bowie’s lead had ballooned to 10-2 before the fourth inning was over.
The Tigers did respond with a run in the fifth inning thanks to a two out rally. The Jackrabbits answered with their own as Richey drove in a run on a single with two outs to make the score 11-3. The game was called after that due to time.
Bowie did not have much time to reflect as it played its next game right after against tournament host Graham.
Despite the Jackrabbits ending on a positive note in the previous game, it was the Steers who got out to a lead in the first inning. Three straight hits following a leadoff walk led to Graham scoring three runs.
The teams exchanged four scoreless innings after that, with both teams missing chances to score with base runners on during that time.
Bowie’s best chance came in the third inning with leadoff Whatley getting hit by a pitch and Carson Sanders reaching first thanks to an error covering his sacrifice bunt. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits failed to advance a runner past second base during the inning.
Graham added to its lead in the sixth inning, with three hits and a groundout producing two more runs to make the score 5-0. Bowie had one more chance at bat to try and come back.
Kesey led off the seventh inning on a great note with a double, the only extra base hit of the game for the Jackrabbits. After a ground out, Sanders hit a single to put two runners on base.
Unfortunately, Bowie failed to capitalize as the next two batters popped out to left field and grounded out to the shortstop to end the game.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Indians were able to beat Saint Jo at home on Thursday night in a tight contest.
The Indians won 55-48 against the Panthers in a game where both teams played hard, but made plenty of early season mistakes.
Nocona came into the game following a low-scoring win against Bells earlier in the week 35-30. For a young Indians team that only has a few players with varsity experience this year, every early season win builds confidence.
For Saint Jo, the Panthers were still without several returning starters since football is still going on. Despite that, new Coach Jacob Nocktonick is trying to build what he can with his group of basketball first players that include several key players even when the football team is integrated.
Despite Saint Jo being the smaller school, overall it had the height advantage in the front line since Nocona features only one player, Kasch Johnson, who is built like a post player. That is nothing new for the Indians, who featured a short team the previous year as Coach Brody Wilson emphasizes full-court pressure on defense and pushing the ball in transition in his system that makes up for a lack of height and size.
Initially Nocona’s pace and energy, grabbing several offensive rebounds, got it the lead 9-3. Eventually, the Panthers adjusted and trailed only 12-11 after the first quarter.
Saint Jo got the lead early in the second quarter. Post Trent Gaston took advantage of his size advantage, especially when the Indians had Johnson out, and led 17-12. Both teams had trouble scoring in a rough second quarter as open perimeter shots just were not going in and shots at the rim were tough to convert.
The Panthers led 23-20 heading into halftime.
Both teams had better offensive success pushing the ball when it could in the second half.
Saint Jo broke Nocona’s press and punished the Indians with quick baskets. Nocona ran whenever it could and seemed to put up an array of perimeter shots and drives, getting offensive rebounds it seemed at will to keep the pressure up and infuriate the Panthers coach.
The Indians got a big push from Landon Fatheree in the second half. After scoring eight points in the first half to lead the team, he scored 10 of his team’s 14 points in the third quarter.
Nocona got the lead back, but only led 34-33 heading into the final period.
The Indians had a comfortable lead up 44-36 when Saint Jo’s Gaston fouled out with 4:56 left in the game. Still, the Panthers did not give up and a minute later had whittled Nocona’s lead down to one basket 44-41 with 3:45.
The game stayed a one-possession game for the next two minutes as Saint Jo had several chances to tie or take the lead not go through.
Nocona made its free throws down the stretch to win with a little more comfort, with the final score being 55-48.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870682&T=1
Nocona senior Meg Meekins signed her official letter of intent to play college basketball at Lubbock Christian University on Wednesday. Meekins, the daughter of Brandi and Lance, is a four-year starter on the volleyball and basketball court. She has earned several accolades like being named to the All State Teams for TGCA, TABC, Associated Press and was selected to the All Tournament Team at the UIL State Basketball Tournament in San Antonio last year.“The coaching staff and the community of the LCU program and just knowing you have a staff that coaches you, but also looks over you just like Coach (Kyle) Spitzer did here was a huge part in the recruiting process,” Meekins said. She plans to pursue a degree in either physical or occupational therapy.
For more pictures, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870680&T=1
The Bowie Lady Rabbits got more than they bargained for when they traveled to Bellevue on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rabbits escaped with the win 44-40, taking the lead with less than a minute to go after trailing whole game.
Bowie came into the game confident. The larger 3A school was supposed to play Windthorst, but had to reschedule because the Lady Trojans volleyball team was playing in the state tournament.
Finding a last minute replacement, the Lady Rabbits thought they would have an easy game playing the 1A program down the road. Little did they know.
Bellevue had a couple of players out with injury to limit its depth a bit and a new coach in Celsey Hoffman, but the Lady Eagles were coming off of nearly beating a Nocona team the previous week. While the Lady Indians were missing four starters who were still in volleyball, it still showed this was not a 1A team to take lightly.
Bellevue came out fast showing tough defensive pressure despite giving up size at nearly every position. Within a few minutes the Lady Eagles had used that pressure to force turnovers and convert those steals into transition opportunities.
Also, the energy showed in other areas as Bellevue seemed to grab every loose ball and fought for offensive rebounds despite lacking in height compared to Bowie.
After a little more than four minutes into the game the Lady Eagles led 15-0. The Lady Rabbits had barely been able to set up their offense or attempt a shot against the pressure.
Bowie Coach Matthew Miller had to reset his shell-shocked team during multiple timeouts. The young ballhandlers was reminded how the team was going to break the press defense so it could set up its offense.
Bellevue led 19-4 after the first quarter, led by Mary Grace Broussard and Brittany Gill who each scored six points.
The Lady Rabbits settled down and made some good progress in the second quarter. Their defense switched between man-to-man and 1-3-1 to keep the Lady Eagles off balance. With them taking care of the ball better, there were less chances for Bellevue in transition and the Lady Eagles offense struggled to consistently find ways to score against Bowie’s length.
The Lady Rabbits offense found some success as well. Five different players made at least one basket and the team made two 3-pointers.
While the game was physical from the start, now that Bowie knew what type of game it was in the team responded back. It was not pretty and only enough fouls were called to make the game watchable, but individual foul trouble affected Bellevue harder than the Lady Rabbits in the second quarter.
The Lady Eagles still led heading into halftime, but Bowie had gotten it down to single digits trailing 25-19.
The third quarter was more even between the two teams as both had trouble consistently scoring baskets. Bellevue made three baskets and a couple of free throws to keep ahead.
The Lady Rabbits got a big lift from Lanie Moore, who knocked in all three of her 3-pointers in the quarter, scoring nine of the team’s 12 points.
Bowie still trailed, but had cut the lead down to one point earlier in the quarter and one basket 34-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bellevue grew the lead to 38-32 early in the final period. The Lady Rabbits struggled to get anything going offensively and trailed 40-34 midway through the quarter.
Bowie’s Kendall Fallis made a 3-pointer in transition to cut the lead to one basket 40-37.
The score stayed there for the next several minutes even as the Lady Eagles had two starters, Karis Denson and Mattie Broussard, foul out of the game.
With a little more than a minute left, the Lady Rabbits drew up and out of bounds play that got Laney Segura an open shot in the corner. Despite not having made a basket all game, she sunk the 3-pointer to tie the game at 40-40 with a minute still to play.
Bowie had been in a pressure defense for the second half of the fourth quarter to prevent Bellevue from passively running clock. Still in the defense, the team next stole the in-bounds pass and Railey Martin made the undefended layup to give the Lady Rabbits their first lead of the game 42-40 with 48 seconds left.
The Lady Eagles could not tie the score on their next offensive possession. Bowie would made two more free throws to make the final 44-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870678&T=1
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