SPORTS
Girls Basketball Roundup
Prairie Valley
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs lost a tough game at home on Tuesday night against 2A Sam Rayburn.
The Lady Rebels won 61-28 against the overwhelmed Lady Bulldogs.
Prairie Valley was hoping to try and compete well despite coming off more than a week break thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs let the game slip away the longer it went on despite a competitive start to the game.
Prairie Valley knocked in some 3-pointers and trailed 17-11 after the first quarter.
The shooting did not keep up the rest of the game as the Lady Bulldogs scored only 17 points the final three quarters.
The more physical Lady Rebels continually got extra shots thanks to rebounding while limiting Prairie Valley to only one shot.
The lead grew more and more as the game went along as frustration set in with shots not going down and players trying to navigate a physical defense.
Sam Rayburn won 61-28.
Makaylee Gomez led the Lady Bulldogs with 13 points while Linzie Priddy was second with eight points.
Nocona
The Nocona Lady Indians got to show off in front of their home crowd for the first time this season on Tuesday as they blew out Vernon.
The Lady Indians won 63-28 coming back from the holiday break.
State-ranked Nocona is still undefeated early in the season despite playing in a tough tournament in Decatur a few days before Thanksgiving against all bigger schools. Coming out of that experience, the Lady Indians knew they just had to play decent against Vernon to win, though Coach Kyle Spitzer would be hoping for more than the bare minimum.
His team delivered as they started off on fire, grabbing control with a 23-6 lead after the first quarter.
The lack of conditioning might have affected Nocona after that as well as Spitzer trying different things throughout the game to try and make all game time valuable despite his team already, having the win in hand.
Only the fourth quarter was close as the Lady Indians slowed down the pace and played keep away to limit the chance of Vernon making a final late-game push even though the deficit was too high. It was still a scenario Nocona usually ends any games with, no matter the score being close or not that has proved Spitzer and his team well as it won 63-28.
Meg Meekins led the team with 28 points, nine assists and four steals. Skyler Smith was second with 20 points while grabbing a team high eight rebounds.
Aubree Kleinhans added six points, Reagan Phipps five and Jolie Rose four points.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers won at Gainesville in their first game back from the holiday break on Tuesday night.
The Lady Panthers won decisively 50-31 against the Lady Leopards.
Saint Jo used its aggressive pressure defense to control the fast pace and cause some chaos, but it was not all good for Coach Daniel Lindenborn.
“We never could get in a groove shooting threes, but the girls did a great job of adapting and getting the ball inside,” Lindenborn said. “Defensively we still have some kinks to work out, but it is nothing that practice reps cannot fix.”
Forestburg
The Forestburg Lady Horns won their first game back from the long holiday break at home against Savoy.
The Lady Horns won 42-37 against the Lady Cardinals in come from behind fashion.
Forestburg trailed Savoy 20-9 at halftime as the Lady Cardinals size was too much for the Lady Horns.
Still, Forestburg’s fast pace seemed to be wearing on Savoy at the end of the first half which meant Coach Cori Hayes kept with his team’s original plan to push the ball to tire the Lady Cardinals out.
That along with a few adjustments allowed the Lady Horns to start coming back. Savoy made three 3-pointers in the third quarter to keep Forestburg at bay and still up double-digits 33-22 heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter saw the Lady Horns defense limit the Lady Cardinals to just four points. This allowed Forestburg on the other end to almost double its three-quarter total, scoring 20 points to come all the way back.
The Lady Horns won 42-37.
Lili Cisneros led the team with 15 points, scoring 12 in the final quarter to help power Forestburg offensively late in the game. Brenna Briles was second with six points.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Lady Eagles won a one-sided game at Garner on Tuesday night.
The Lady Eagles won 73-20 against the Lady Horns.
Bellevue was coming off a rough tournament playing against bigger schools in Hirschi the days following Thanksgiving so the team had some experience following the holiday break.
The Lady Eagles rolled over Garner from start to finish, using their press defense to never let the Lady Horns get set offensively while pushing a fast pace on offense.
Cirstin Allen led the team with 17 points as she made five 3-pointers in the game. Callie Martin was second with 14 points and Braylie Hager also finished in double-figures with 12 points.
Gold-Burg
The Gold-Burg Lady Bears lost to Vernon Northside at home on Tuesday night.
The Lady Indians won 44-25 against the Lady Bears in a game that was closer in the first half, but the lack of depth hurt them as the game went along.
Gold-Burg does not have any bench players and most of the team has little varsity basketball experience.
Playing against a Northside team that employs a full-court press is a nightmare for a team like the Lady Bears, but the first half saw Gold-Burg hang with the Lady Indians.
Northside led 23-14 at halftime.
Eventually the long layoff and the lack of depth wore the Lady Bears down as the Lady Indians lead grew and grew in the second half.
Northside won 44-25.
Ollie Gaston led the team with nine points and Raigen Hilton was second with eight points.
Missing scores
Bowie had a bye game on Tuesday.
To read the full stories, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo will have a new boy’s basketball coach this school year.
Jacob Nocktonick is coming to the district after spending the last two years at Bland as an assistant coach. It is his first head coaching job in basketball.
Nocktonick graduated from Princeton High School in 2015 where he played and loved basektball. He graduated in 2019 from Tarleton State University and despite playing basketball up until he graduated, he did not see coaching in his future. He worked for most of three years after college at a landscape supply company, but something was missing from his life.
“I realized after being out of it for three or four years, something was missing from my life that I really loved,” Nocktonick said. “That was playing the game I love and being around people that really love to be there.”
Nocktonick did not have much experience coaching before then, but through his experience at Bland, he knows he has found his true purpose.
“I missed that passion,” Nocktonick said. “I love it and love the kids I have been working with.”
Nocktonick is especially excited in his role in shaping young men for the future through basketball.
“At the end of the day, people aren’t going to remember me for my records,” Nocktonick said. “I get to touch lives in this role. It’s a lot different than other jobs because I have a lot of kids that look up to me. Even past players from Bland still hit me up, asking for life advice and it’s just different.”
He describes himself as the type of teacher who likes to climb up on his desk and get everyone involved more than just lecture through power point presentations. That extends to his coaching as well.
“I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic,” Nocktonick said. “I want kids to know when the time is to be serious, but know we are going to have fun, bond and become like family. I am not in this for the business. I am in this for the relationships.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
The Bowie cheerleading team went to cheer camp on July 13-16 at Texas Women’s University.
It was a good opportunity for the team to learn new things to take into the school year, according to cheer sponsor Destanie Curry.
“They learn their job is not to just lead the crowds in cheers, but they are ambassadors of their school and community and how to fulfill that role to the best of their ability,” Curry said. “Of course, they also learn stunt safety, new stunts, new cheer material and how to incorporate all this into pep rallies, routines and games.”
It can be intense, with campers expected to eat, sleep and breathe cheerleading from morning until night, staying positive and spiritful in everything they do since councilors are always watching and looking to see who will earn extra awards.
At the end of the four days, the Lady Rabbits cheerleading team took home several team and individual awards.
The team won one spirit stick daily and one on the final day. They were awarded each night to teams who demonstrated leadership, positive attitudes, excellent class participation and who respect and encourage one another, their coaches and staff.
Bowie earned its National Federation of State High School Association’s squad credential. The group earned Stunt SAFE, which was presented to teams that displayed excellent skills in spotting and stunt technique.
The final team award was in the Game Day Championship trophy. The competition included crowd involvement with a game day chant and cheer learned at the camp.
They were judged on crowd leading effectiveness, use of props, incorporation of stunts, technique and execution of skills.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
Nocona got its new press box into place this week at Jack Crane Stadium. The old press box, which was in place for more than 60 years, was taken out in early June and moved to Indian Valley Raceway. The new press box was by the Southern Bleacher Company out of Graham. Athletic Director Black Crutsinger said they looked at a lot of press boxes and decided they liked the one at Lindsay High School and went with that model. Sean Hutson operated the crane from the Hurd Crane Service that put the press box up for Nocona.
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