SPORTS
Lady Panthers win area round playoff game against Avinger
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers won their area playoff game on Friday night against Avinger to keep their season alive for one more game.
The Lady Panthers easily took care of the Lady Indians 54-21, overwhelming the undermanned Avinger team as the game went along.
Saint Jo came into the game with a lot of momentum after beating Perrin-Whitt earlier in the week in the bi-district playoff game with little trouble.
The biggest thing coming into the game against the Lady Indians was how much was unknown. Coach Daniel Lindenborn was able to find only a little bit of film of his opponent during the two days of preparation and some were out of date.
It was only when the team showed up did the Lady Panthers see that not only was Avinger down one key player they had seen on film, but had only five players total.
Saint Jo knew from the film it would have to contain one explosively athletic player and another guard who could shoot 3-pointers well.
The fact the Lady Indians had several tall players also meant Saint Jo was outsized by average as well and made driving to the basket tough at times.
Still, the Lady Panthers had the exact style of play that is tough for a team with no substitutions.
Saint Jo plays a physical full-court press defense as its base and early on was having success creating turnovers in the backcourt for some transition offense opportunities.
It took a little bit for the Lady Panthers to start capitalizing on these chances, but were leading 14-4 after six minutes.
Avinger came back in the final two minutes, knocking in two 3-pointers and cutting the lead to 14-12 heading into the second quarter.
However that would be the most energetic the Lady Indians were in the game as scoring became tougher in the final three quarters against Saint Jo’s constant pressure.
The Lady Panthers scored enough while limiting Avinger to only five points to extend their lead to 25-17 at halftime.
The third quarter saw Saint Jo break the game open with its most successful offensive run in the game.
The Lady Panthers made three 3-pointers and had five players make at least one basket as they scored 18 points.
This seemed to demoralize the Lady Indians energy, which was already lacking due to fatigue as they scored only four points in response.
Saint Jo was in control up 43-21 heading into the final period. Not needing to do much with Avinger players throwing up desperate shots and a big lead in hand, the Lady Panthers coasted in the fourth quarter while giving up no points on defense.
Saint Jo won 54-21.
In its first match since last year’s state semifinal appearance, Saint Jo hosted Bryson Aug. 11 and took a 25-13, 25-12, 25-21 win over the Cowgirls.
The Lady Panthers lost some talent to graduation but have five seniors ready to have a successful season. Savannah Hil, one of the five, got Saint Jo rolling offensively with a four-point serving string, including a pair of aces. Abby Carter’s kill and Kamron Skidmore’s block helped put the Lady Panthers up 5-2 in game one.
Hadleigh Moore added a four-point string of her own to extend the lead to 10-3. Tatum Morman’s pair, helped by a Hill kill, gave Saint Jo a 14-5 lead. Bryson got within five before a Hill 3-pointer, with help by a Carter kill, put the lead back at 18-10.
After an Olivia Johnson kill broke serve, Jordyn O’Neal served up the final five points, with Johnson providing a kill to move things along.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Despite being the smallest school in the Brock varsity classic volleyball tournament, the Lady Indians finished 4th out of the eight teams there.
After losing to the host team in its first pool play match Aug. 14 18-25, 14-25 and also to Class 3A Wall 12-25, 8-25, Nocona rebounded to close out pool play with a 20-25, 25-23, 25-20 win over Christoval. Sy Parker had 16 kills and 7 blocks in the three matches. Raylea Bowles had 12 kills, 17 digs and served up three aces. Maddyn Bowles had seven kills and 14 digs while Paige Davis had seven kills and 15 digs. Baylee Thomas added 11 digs.
From the setter spot, Kasi Castro had 20 assists, served up five aces and contributed 14 digs. Leah Meekins added 18 assists and six digs during the three matches.
To open Saturday’s bracket play, the Lady Indians posted a 25-18, 18-25, 26-24, 25-19 win over Fort Worth Christian. Castro staked Nocona to a 2-0 lead in game one. Kills by Parker set up pairs of points from Raylea Bowles and Leah Meekins helped Nocona negate an early deficit and take a 10-9 lead.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
County football teams had their first scrimmage of the season Aug. 14 with mixed results.
Forestburg hosted Azle Christian and Victory Christian. Under a new system with new head coach Cori Hayes, the Longhorns looked pretty good in the coach’s eye.
“The first team looked good,” Hayes explained. “Overall we need to work on our pace and blocking assignments and blocking assignments. Overall we looked good for the new regime.”
Forestburg hits the road to scrimmage Newcastle Aug. 21.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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