SPORTS
Lady Indians beat Windthorst 57-40

The Nocona Lady Indians won possibly their biggest district game of the season as they hosted Windthorst on Tuesday night.
The Lady Indians won 57-40 to stay undefeated on the year against possibly the best team to challenge them in district play.
It was actually the second time the teams have played each other. Back in November the two teams met in the first tournament of the year at Bowie in the championship game. Nocona pulled ahead in the second half to win 64-44, but that win had some disclaimers.
The biggest was the Lady Trojans were coming off winning the state title the previous week in volleyball and came into the tournament with little to no practice time under their belts.
In any sense, nearly two months later and with the stakes higher, it was a whole new ball game for both teams to feel confident heading into the game.
Nocona has yet to lose so far this season and is ranked in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Poll at the top of the state in the 2A classification.
Since that loss to the Lady Indians, Windthorst had only one other loss on the year against Paradise in another tournament. The Lady Trojans were ranked 14th in the state in the same poll.
It was a classic contrast of styles matchup as the smaller, faster Nocona team matched up against a tall and big Windthorst frontline that wanted to post up and mash the Lady Indians rebounding the ball.
The first quarter was back and forth. Windthorst was able to get the ball into one of its post players and she did a good job of drawing fouls as Nocona sent aggressive double-teams. This also led to them allowing open shots from the perimeter as the Lady Trojans made two 3-pointers as well.
The Lady Indians initially had to break some back court pressure Windthorst sent at their two lead ball handlers, but they quickly burned that coverage to get them out of it. Some made 3-pointers of their own and, their bread-and-butter, pushing the ball in transition allowed Nocona to take a narrow 13-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Lady Indians defense tightened up in the second quarter, fighting to not give up position in the post or allow Windthorst to have such an easy time passing the ball into the post.
When the Lady Trojans did, Nocona scrambled and some aggressive contests were getting called for fouls at a higher clip than the Lady Indians would have liked considering their limited depth on the bench.
Still, Nocona continued to roll on offense. Playmakers Megyn Meekins and Skyler Smith hurt the Lady Trojans hitting ahead outlet passes to Aubree Kleinhans who scored six in the quarter. When that was covered better, Windthorst failed to pick them up and either were able to dribble all the way to the basket while pushing the ball up themselves.
Nocona extended its lead all the way to 27-14 at one point, but Windthorst closed the quarter strong to cut the lead down to 28-20 heading into the second half. Besides the close to the quarter, Nocona’s biggest thing was the eight fouls it committed which could prove to be fatal with a team that usually plays only seven girls.
The Lady Indians continued to execute transition opportunities with roll players leaking out at just the right times. When that was covered, Meekins and Smith found driving lanes converted enough to keep its lead.
Windthorst got hot from 3-point land in the quarter, making four. The Lady Trjoans closed the quarter on an 8-2 run to make the game the closest it had been since the first quarter 40-35 as the game went to the final period.
That momentum the Lady Trojans were building was swept away in the opening half of the fourth quarter as Meekins and Nocona’s defense took over.
The Lady Indians dialed up the pressure on the ball handlers and picked their pockets for steals that led to layups. Meekins, who admitted the team did not have a great shooting game, made back-to-back deep 3-pointers.
Reagan Phipps, who was dealing with foul trouble in the first half, got in on the action by sinking an open 3-pointer as well to provide the only other points in the quarter that was not scored by Meekins.
With 2:44 left in the game, Windthorst still had not scored since the end of the third quarter and Nocona’s lead was up to 55-35. All tension was melted away by then as the Lady Indians coasted to another double-digit win, 57-40.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Crutsinger resigns from Nocona

It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Cervantes signs to college

Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Sieberts earn bronze at state

Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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