It was a disappointing end for the Bowie Lady Rabbits as they lost their bi-district game on Monday night against Breckenridge.
The Lady Bucks won 46-39 in a game they led for most of the last three quarters
Bowie came into the game as favorites being the second seed playing against a third seed. The Lady Rabbits have history with Breckenridge, with the Lady Bucks being in their district the previous two years. Bowie won all four of the previous district matchups and Breckenridge was not in the playoff race in either season.
This year was different and Monday was different.
The game started off with the Lady Rabbits getting out in front with the lead. Bowie led 5-0 after the opening minutes and 9-5 midway through the quarter.
Breckenridge closed the first period strong, as the Lady Rabbits led 14-12.
The second quarter saw Bowie’s offense start to struggle. The Lady Bucks played a 3-2 zone defense that really pressured the 3-point line, but left the corners open. The Lady Rabbits were able to get some open shots there, but had trouble breaking through the opening line of defenders and attacking the paint with any regularity.
Turnovers became an issue as any pause with the ball movement meant pressure was coming and turnovers became an issue with attempted interior passes.
Besides a couple of 3-pointers, Bowie did not score much in the second quarter.
This left Breckenridge the opportunity to take the lead. While the Lady Bucks attempted a decent amount of 3-point shots, they were not going in at a clip that was too worrying. What was were the amount of second chance opportunities and times Breckenridge posted up players on mismatches in the post that allowed the team to score in different ways.
Bowie trailed only 22-20 at halftime, but the offensive struggles would continue in the third quarter.
The Lady Rabbits scored only seven points and made no 3-pointers. Breckenridge responded with its best offensive quarter of the game as the team made three 3-pointers. The lead grew to as much as 11 points at one point and Bowie was down 36-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lady Rabbits turned up the intensity on defense with aggressive, full-court man-to-man pressing. The team played with more urgency which got them better shot attempts.
Bowie cut the lead all the way to one basket, down 42-39 with a little more than two minutes left to play.
After a stretch with no scoring from either side, the Lady Bucks were sent to the free throw line with 39 seconds left. Breckenridge had not shot well from their all night and missed, giving Bowie the ball with the chance for the last shot.
Unfortunately, a careless turnover out of bounce gave Breckenridge the ball right back. The Lady Rabbits were forced to foul and send the Lady Bucks back to the free throw line. Despite shooting barely over 50% all game, they made both free throws to make it a two score game up 44-39.
Coach Matthew Miller thought his team played well, but the stretch in the third quarter when Breckenridge had a good run made the difference in the game to him. He will always remember this team for coming ready to play and never giving up despite not many outsiders expecting much.

“We went 23-10 on the season, finished second in district when we were picked fourth,” Miller said. “Beat some good teams like Childress and City View who are both still playing. We worked hard every day and for that I am grateful to these girls.”