SPORTS
Bulldogs lose to No. 4 Graford
The Prairie Valley boy’s basketball season came to an end playing state power Graford in the bi-district round of the playoffs Monday night.
The Rabbits won 87-17 against the overwhelmed Bulldogs, who were making their first playoff appearance since 1996.
With that type of streak broken, any sort of success against the fourth ranked team in the state would have been gravy. Looking past the ranking, it was not a good matchup for Prairie Valley.
Graford across the board were taller and bigger than Prairie Valley and did its best to use that to its advantage.
The Rabbits employed a full-court trapping style press on defense and looked to get shots off near the basket and crash the offensive glass for rebounds.
For a little more than half the first quarter, the Bulldogs did well to compete with Graford, contesting shots inside, breaking through the press and getting shots off in the 15-foot area between the perimeter and paint.
The Rabbits were only up 6-2 and Prairie Valley was at least competing with them and making them work for what they got.
Unfortunately, that did not last long.
Graford ended the quarter on a 13-2 run to go up 19-4 and the Rabbits never looked back.
The press and physical play wore on the Prairie Valley ball handlers, who drew several fouls for getting hit to the floor, but ultimately could not keep up with the scoring pace of Graford once it got going.
It did not help when the Rabbits started having shooters coming off screens in the half court. Prairie Valley had trouble fighting through the big bodies setting those screens and Graford’s shooters made them pay.
The best thing for Prairie Valley were a few looks of overwhelming frustration from the players as the lead kept getting bigger. It never seemed like the team shut down or got too mad with each other outside of small moments.
Prairie Valley was able to execute some of the things on offense despite Graford paying extra special attention. Senior Isaac Yeargin spent most of the night with a defender pinned to his hip to prevent him from catching or shooting many 3-pointers. Still, he made one on the night and got fouled on another attempt.
Guards Tyler Winkler and Eli Croxton were able to mix it up enough in the lane to draw free throws from the aggressive Rabbit defenders despite both coming up short physically compared to the guys who were guarding them. By the end, Graford defenders were frustrated themselves and shaking their heads.
It wasn’t enough to make the game competitive with the final score being 87-17.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo hosted its own volleyball tournament Sept. 10-12.
In its first match, the Lady Panthers bested Sam Rayburn in a b est-of-three match 2-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-14.) In the opener, senior Tatum Morman staked the Lady Panthers to a 4-0 lead with help from Kamron Skidmore and Olivia Johnson kills. The Lady Rebels would come back and tie the game at seven.
Savannah Hill’s kill broke serve and allowed Abby Carter to string together seven points. An ace and a Hill kill helped keep the drive alive. Hill later rolled off six points in a row, helped by two aces, to go up 23-10. Sam Rayburn broke serve but Saint Jo finished the game with a single Morman point.
Sam Rayburn came right out of the gate firing in the second game leading 4-0. A single Carter point, thrown down by a Hill block, and Hill’s four-point skein put the Lady Panthers up 8-6. Sam Rayburn tied the game at eight.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Forestburg’s volleyball team gave visiting Chico a solid test Sept. 8, but the Lady Dragons rebounded from a third-set loss to pull out the 3-1 win (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19).
The Lady Longhorns got out to a quick start with aces from freshmen Madi Wadsworth and Lacie Shotwell staking the squad to a 4-1 lead in game one. Wadsworth later broke a 4-all tie with a kill.
Addy Conway rolled off four straight points, helped by a Wadsworth kill to give Forestburg an 11-9 lead. Chico took a 16-14 lead but a Brenna Briles ace and Jocelyn Rich’s two points forced Chico into a timeout down 17-19.
The respite worked as it would be Forestburg’s last lead of game one, the Lady ‘Horns not having another serving point.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After splitting the first two games with Vernon Northside, Bowie’s volleyball team turned things out and wound with a 3-1 match win (25-17, 15-25, 25-17, 25-17).
Molly Enlow used two aces amidst a four-point string to give the Lady Rabbits a 5-1 lead in game one. Senior KP Rutherford’s pair of points extended the lead to 8-3.
Northside cut the deficit to 10-11 before Rutherford’s kill broke serve.
Bella Culwell’s point, aided by an Ellie Mowery kill, put Bowie up 13-10. Northside tied the game at 13 before Rutherford came through with another pair for a 17-14 lead. Lillie Maddox also had a deuce for a 20-15 lead and force a Lady INdian timeout.
Northside broke serve but a Sophie Maddox block and Lillie Maddox three-point string gave the squad game point at 24-16. The squads exchanged side outs to end the game.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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