Both Bowie basketball teams made the first travel to new district opponent Vernon on Friday night.
The Lady Rabbits came away with a close win 33-32 while the Jackrabbits won a bit more comfortably 56-45.
For the Bowie girl’s team, the game was the end of the first round of district play. A win would secure the Lady Rabbits with a sole position of second place in the district after winning all four of their previous district games after dropping their opener to leader Holliday.
The Lady Lions came into the game with only one district win so it was expected Bowie would walk over them. Vernon did not make it easy.
It was a back and forth, low-scoring game that never allowed the Lady Rabbits to get comfortable. Bowie led 11-7 after the first quarter, but the lead was cut to one 19-18 at halftime.
Neither team scored in the double-figures in either of the second half quarters. The Lady Lions took a one-point 26-25 lead into the fourth quarter.
Every basket and point mattered down the stretch as Bowie leaned on its most experienced starting five players to score points. Down one point with 20 seconds left, Neely Price went to the free throw line and made both clutch free throws to put the Lady Rabbits up 33-32. Bowie was able to hold on the final seconds to escape with the win.
The Jackrabbits was coming into the game in a different light. They had just lost their first district game the game before against City View and did not shoot the ball well. Vernon was coming into the game with only one district loss against City View as well the previous week and the team was coming off a bye.
The Lions came in athletic all over and was looking to employ their full-court pressure man defense to try and cause havoc. It was a good thing Bowie has played several similar teams that like to play like that and the team dabbles with the style itself since the team lacks elite height.
The first half saw the Jackrabbits take a small lead into halftime 24-20, with Coach Andy Atkins main point of criticism being on the defensive glass.
“One thing we struggled with in the first half was giving up offensive rebounds,” Atkins said. “The boys refocused themselves to not let that happen in the second half. In the third quarter we were able to limit them to only one shot and we were able to knock down shots. We got up by 22 at one point in the second half before Vernon made a few three’s late in the game.”
Despite a let down in the fourth quarter where the Lions outscored Bowie 16-9, the Jackrabbits still won by double-digits 56-45.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.