SPORTS
Prairie Valley wins bi-district match in thrilling fashion
The Prairie Valley Lady Bulldogs survived a battle for their volleyball lives on Tuesday night against Vernon Northside in the bi-district playoff game.
The Lady Bulldogs nearly saw the Lady Indians come back to steal the match before narrowly winning the five-set thriller to continue their season.
Prairie Valley came into the game confident as the higher two seed playing Vernon Northside. This Lady Bulldogs group had won their bi-district playoff match each of the past three seasons, usually with little trouble.
The Lady Indians would prove to be a different breed, being in a district with top-ranked Harrold and a solid Crowell team they narrowly took the second seed from.
The first set was the most lopsided of the match even if the opening 20 points were competitive. Prairie Valley led 11-9 before busting out on a 7-3 run to go up 18-12. The Lady Bulldogs were able to cruise to an easy 25-16 win as they were playing good and getting the result they expected.
The second set saw Prairie Valley start behind a little at 6-4 before going on a great run in the middle of the set to break it open again. The Lady Bulldogs went 12-0 to go up 16-6 and it looked like Prairie Valley was going to be able to coast again to the end.
Northside then started to show a peak of what was to come. The Lady Indians rallied, making the Lady Bulldogs sweat a bit more than they would have liked trying to close out the set.
Prairie Valley still won with a little wiggle room 25-20 and were up 2-0, but Northside played better down the stretch and used that momentum in set three.
Initially the Lady Indians took the early lead, but the Lady Bulldogs tied the score at 10-10. Then Northside went on a 7-3 run and were able to keep that distance until the end of the set as it won 25-21 to extend the match.
Set four was similar at the start. Early leads from the Lady Indians fell away when Prairie Valley caught back up or tied the score, but could not grab control.
With the Lady Bulldogs down only 18-17 heading into the end game, it was Northside that closed the set well. The Lady Indians went on a 4-1 run to open up a 22-18 lead before ultimately winning 25-20 to tie the match.
There was a lot of frustration in the air. While Prairie Valley had lost the two previous sets in competitive fashion, there were plenty of aspects where the team seemed to be fading while Northside was growing in confidence.
The Lady Bulldogs were content to use their superior ball control at times to outpatient the Lady Indians in long rallies. While Prairie Valley had many good plays at the net, several blocks by the overall bigger frontline from Northside seemed to make the Lady Bulldogs more hesitant to hit the ball hard and instead tried to tactfully tip the ball more often then not.
This made points hard to come by and every long rally that did not end up going Prairie Valley’s way in sets three and four sting that much more.
It all had a sinking feeling to it from the Lady Bulldogs perspective as Northside came back and got more confident hitting the ball hard at the net, picking up the tipped balls better and just having the ball bounce its way more and more.
Prairie Valley also got dealt a blow as front line player Abbie Pepper went down with an ankle injury during this time and the Lady Bulldogs had to change rotations on the fly.
With the world falling in around Prairie Valley, the match entered the fifth set.
Thankfully, fifth sets can sometimes be its own entity, separate from the sets that came before. With the stakes winner-take-all and the set played only to 15 instead of 25, every point won and every lead gets multiplied in everyone’s gut tenfold.
That is why when the Lady Bulldogs started the fifth set down 4-0, it seemed like the end was near for this group that feature five senior starters. Still down four points a short time later 6-2, Prairie Valley found a way to come back and won the next five points to take the lead 7-6.
It was game on from there as the teams traded points back-and-forth. Tied at 11-11, it was there when the Lady Bulldogs broke the cycle and won two straight points to take a 13-11 lead.
That opening would be enough as Prairie Valley seized it and won two of the next three points to win the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
For more pictures from the match, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870376&T=1
At the end of the November school board meeting for Bowie, athletic director Tyler Price had some updates about the new high school soccer club.
So far the club has fielded 40 players total, with 23 being boys and 17 girls meaning it can field both teams.
Both teams have full game schedules, with the girls being invited to play in the Wichita Falls Invitational Tournament in January.
One goal has been donated, both sets of team jerseys are fully donated as well with a commitment to donate the jerseys next year with the hope for home and away games.
The club is coached by Chad Word, Scott Siebert and Javier Fuerte. The club is not officially a part of the competition this year in the University Interscholastic League, but with a good turnout there is hope the presence of the club will lead to the Bowie School District adding the sport to its athletic department in the future.
If and when that is the case, the club leaders hope to help develop players for the high school team. Bowie would have to compete in the 4A classification if and when a high school soccer team is approved.
The Lady Rabbit team has their first game scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 17 at Burkburnett. For more information about the soccer club, go to the Bowie High School Soccer Club Facebook page.
Nocona girls
The Nocona Lady Indians were able to whoop up on Iowa Park on Tuesday night.
The Lady Indians dominated 86-38 against the Lady Hawks in a game that was not competitive at all.
Nocona was coming off a tough loss against state-ranked Bridgeport where the team did not shoot well.
From the jump, the Lady Indians’ offense was working over Iowa Park. Nocona felt safe to bring pressure on defense and created easy scoring chances in transition.
The Lady Indians scored 20 or more points in the first three quarters and got a lot of players in on the scoring action. Every player ended up making at least one basket.
Nocona took the gas off the defensive pressure in the second half so as not to be disrespectful. This allowed the Lady Hawks, who had scored only 12 points in the first half, to get some things going in the second half.
Nocona was actually outscored 11-9 in the fourth quarter, but it did not mean much with their lead already so high.
The Lady Indians won 86-38.
Nocona boys
The Nocona Indians lost a tough game on the road on Tuesday night at Henrietta.
The Bearcats won 60-50 in a game where the Indians fell behind early and were unable to come back.
Nocona was playing its first game in a week and was looking to see if it could hang with a program that is usually able to give a good challenge most years.
Henrietta got out to a big lead in the first quarter, getting to the free throw line for 10 attempts and scoring 20 points. The Indian offense was slow to get going as they trailed 20-9.
Nocona was able to slow down the Bearcat offense in the second quarter, but could not make up much ground as it trailed 29-21 at halftime.
The Indians could replicate the defense in the third and fourth quarter as Henrietta scored 16 and 15 points. Nocona’s offense kept pace and even outscored the Bearcats in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough to make up the deficit it was chasing.
Henrietta won 60-50.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo boys
The Saint Jo Panthers easily won at Tioga on Tuesday night.
The Panthers won 55-31 against the Bulldogs in a game they dominated from the start.
Saint Jo raced out to a 20-5 lead in the first quarter, with 14 coming from leading scorer Barrett Johnson.
The Panthers cooled down offensively in the second and third quarters, scoring 20 points combined during the time. Still, the defense was able to keep Tioga stifled in the second quarter before the Bulldogs played a bit more evenly in the second half.
Saint Jo still outscored Tioga in each of the quarters, not allowing the Bulldogs to make up the double-digit deficit. The Panthers closed the game out with a 15 point quarter with four different players scoring at least one basket.
Saint Jo won 55-31.
Saint Jo girls
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers were able to beat Chico at home on Tuesday night.
The Lady Panthers won 58-41 against the Lady Dragons in a rough and tumble game that suits Saint Jo just fine.
Both teams tried to pressure the ball while playing fast and physical throughout. The Lady Panthers got an 18-9 lead after the first quarter and 31-23 at halftime.
Saint Jo pulled away with a 16 point third quarter before slowing things down a peg in the fourth quarter while keeping the defensive intensity up.
The Lady Panthers won 58-41.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
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