Saint Jo boys
The Saint Jo Panthers played their first games of the season on Nov. 25-26 with their full team now that football has come to an end.
The Panthers had good results despite limited practice time with the full squad, getting wins against Petrolia 47-38 and Trenton 60-58 at home.
The first game against the Pirates saw Saint Jo jump out to a 28-13 lead. The Panther offense cooled off in the second half, scoring 19 points total. Petrolia picked things up, more than doubling its first half total in the third quarter with 16 points.
Saint Jo’s defense clamped back down in the fourth quarter and made all of its free throws in the period to get the win with some breathing room 47-38.
Barrett Johnson led the team with 17 points and Trent Gaston was right behind him with 16 points while Lee Yeley, fresh from the football field, added eight points.
The next day the game against the Tigers proved to be much closer throughout. The Panthers led 15-9 after the first quarter, but both team’s offenses got hot in the second quarter, both scoring 17 points. Saint Jo led 32-26 at halftime.
Trenton heated up in the third quarter, scoring 21 points. The Panthers lost their lead, but were able to score just enough to stick around. Landon Shannon scored seven of the team’s 14 points as the Tigers led 47-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
The final period saw Saint Jo take back the lead while cooling off Trenton’s offense, limiting the Tigers to 11 points. The Panthers were just able to take the lead and hold it despite going only 2-9 in during the fourth quarter.
Still, those two made free throws made all the difference as Saint Jo won the close game 60-58.
Johnson carried the Panthers with 26 points. Gaston was second with eight points and Shannon, finished with eight as well.

Bowie boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits lost a tough game on Nov. 25 at Bells before the holiday break.
The Panthers won 43-37 against the Jackrabbits as Bowie was playing catchup for most of the game.
The Jackrabbits were coming off a blowout win against a not quite full Graham team, but found Bells much more potent from the beginning of the game.
The Panthers knocked in five 3-pointers in the first quarter, which allowed them to get the early lead 17-9.
Bowie’s defense adjusted and were able to limit Bells to just two more 3-pointers in the entire game and single-digit scoring in the second and third quarters.
The Jackrabbit offense never fully opened up, scoring eight points in the second quarter and game high 12 points in the third quarter, though it could have been more as Bowie went 2-8 from the free throw line during the third.
The Jackrabbits cut the lead to 31-29 heading into the final period.
Bowie was able to keep it close, but Bells went 4-6 from the free throw line to help it win with some breathing room 43-38.
Rayder Mann led the team with 11 points while Gaige Goodman and Bradly Horton were second with nine points each.

Nocona boys
The Nocona Indians played two tough games that went both ways on Nov. 25-26 before the holiday break.
The Indians beat Howe 48-34 and lost at Munday 52-44.
Nocona got out to big lead in the first game against the Bulldogs. The Indians led 29-10 at halftime and were sitting pretty. Howe had a big third quarter to cut the lead down to single-digits 36-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
Nocona’s defense got back on track, limiting the Bulldogs to seven points in the final period as it won comfortably 48-34. Landon Fatheree led the team with 21 points and four rebounds. Karson Kleinhans was second with 15 points while having a team high five assists and four steals. Brody Langford added eight points and Kasch Johnson had four steals.
Against Munday the next day the roles were reversed. Nocona fell behind in the first quarter 17-6 and were struggling to play catchup the rest of the way.
Even with the Indians outscoring the Moguls in the second and fourth quarters, it was not enough to make up the lead.
Nocona cut it to single-digits, but lost 52-44.
Fatheree led the team with 23 points, six rebounds and six steals. Kleinhans was second with 11 points, five rebounds and five steals. Walker Murphey also grabbed five rebounds. Johnson scored seven points.

Saint Jo girls
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers had a good first tournament last week playing at Lady Jay Shootout in Jayton.
The Lady Panthers went 3-1 and won the silver bracket overall.
Saint Jo first beat up on Albany 76-7. Cervantes led the team with 29 points, Jordyn O’Neal was second with 16 and Taylor Patrick had 11 points.
The second game was against the tournament host Jayton and the Lady Panthers lost the close game 53-48. Cervantes led the team with 18 points and Krista Reeves was second with 12 points.
Saint Jo bounced back with a low-scoring win against O’Donnell 31-24. Cervantes led the team with 15 points and O’Neal was second with eight points.
The Lady Panthers ended the tournament with a good 45-39 win against Colorado City. Cervantes had a team high 24 points while Aubrey Morman had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Bellevue girls
The Bellevue Lady Eagles were able to pick up a win against Zephyr last week.
The Lady Eagles won with ease 46-14 against the Lady Bulldogs.
Bellevue was led by Brittany Gill who had 11 points and Tristan Shook who had nine points.
New Coach Celsey Hoffman thought her team played true to its style and strengths in a game they owned from the jump.
With the team losing its one senior contributor for the season due to injury, Hoffman knows now is the time for her team to adjust to the absence both on and off the floor.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.

The Nocona Lady Indians lost a tough challenge on Saturday when they traveled to play at state-ranked Bridgeport.
The Sissies won 44-39 in a game that was not as close as that final score would indicate as the Lady Indians struggled.
Nocona was coming off a tough tournament four days before at Decatur playing bigger schools that also routinely outsized the Lady Indians. The previous two years it’s been the same story and Nocona usually can overcome that disadvantage.
Bridgeport was not just a bigger 4A schools with bigger players. The Sissies were 9-1 to start the season and were ranked eighth in the state according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll. The team’s best player also was its tallest post player, Anna Green, who signed her letter of intent to play at Nelson College in early November.
From the jump Nocona brought extra defensive attention to Green anytime she caught the ball in the post. Avery Crutsinger is used to battling girls bigger and taller than her after two seasons of experience, but relies on her teammates bringing extra help while she does her best to make opponents not get the best position down low.
The Sissies were able to pass out of the double-teams and make the Lady Indians scrambling defense pay by making a few open 3-pointers and driving into the lane. Bridgeport had other big players on its frontline that could make Nocona pay near the basket.
Still, the Lady Indians defense was holding out about as well as it could have minus completely shutting down the Sissies. Nocona was surprisingly not bulldozed on the glass on either side of the court, rebounding pretty evenly with the bigger Bridgeport team and even outhustling the Sissies for some offensive rebounds of its own.
The problem for the Lady Indians was offensively they just could not make a shot. Nocona pushed the ball when it could and took open 3-pointers early in some possessions, but not many went in all game. Trying to drive to the basket against Bridgeport meant challenging taller and bigger girls and not many friendly whistles were being given out for free throw attempts in the first three quarter.
The Sissies led 14-5 after the first quarter and 25-13 at halftime. All-state player Meg Meekins was held scoreless for probably the first time in her career as her usual hanging floaters and shots near the rim just were not going in. Nocona had made only two 3-pointers in the first half and it did not get much better in the second.
The Lady Indians tried to up their pace in the third quarter, but to varying degrees of success. Coach Kyle Spitzer, knowing the team is coming off an extended break, at several times during the game, subbed in all four of his bench players at once, leaving in only one starter with strong ball handling skills to help run the show offensively.
These bench units feature three of its four members with limited varsity experience up until this season and Spitzer hopes to have a few emerge so he knows who he can trust later in the season.
For now, the bench unit provided some good influx of energy, but still struggled to score like the starters and made some busts defensively that is expected this early in the season.
Nocona was not outplayed by a lot in the third quarter as Bridgeport won 11-8, but the Lady Indians let Green scored six of her team high 13 points during the period as they lost her at times.
Also, it meant Nocona’s hole got bigger as the Sissies led by double-digits 36-21 heading into the fourth quarter.
Bridgeport still held that advantage more than halfway through the final period, up 41-26 when the Lady Indians started to go into desperation mode.
Nocona brought full-court pressure and started to put more pressure on driving to the rim. More fouls started to get called as the intensity picked up and the Lady Indians took advantage.
Neither team were making free throws at a high percentage throughout the game, which came back to bite Nocona since the final score was close enough that those missed free throws could have changed the outcome of the game. Still the team shot better in the fourth quarter than Bridgeport which allowed the Lady Indians to catch up.
The final few minutes dragged on as both coaches used all of their timeouts and with the frequent stops for fouls. Green even fouled out for Bridgeport.
Meekins scored eight of her team high 12 points in the final period and the Lady Indians nearly doubled their total from the first three quarters with 18 points.
Still, it was not enough as the Sissies held on to win 44-39.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870855&T=1

Bowie
1st team
Camille Schutte

2nd team
Callie Curry

Honorable Mention
Railey Martin, Sadie Weaver, Rhyan Carle

Academic all-district
Hayden Lea, Railey Martin, Madison Fulmer, Ollie Gaston, Camille Schutte, Olivia Stewart, Karsyn Childers, Ellie Mowery, Sadie Weaver, Laney Oliver

Nocona
Superlatives
Hitter of the year: Ava Johnson
Defensive player of the year: Aubree Kleinhans

1st team
Meg Meekins, Kaygan Stone

2nd team
Raylea Bowles

Honorable mention
Avery Crutsinger, Jolie Rose, Paige Davis, Leah Meekins

Academic all-district
Sy Parker, Presley Weber, Alexa Sosa, Julia Flores, Skye Kirby, Ava Johnson, Aubree Kleinhans, Meg Meekins, Raylea Bowles, Avery Crutsinger, Jolie Rose, Paige Davis, Leah Meekins

1A
Superlatives
MVP: Aubrey Morman, Saint Jo; Taylor Patrick, Saint Jo
Offensive MVP: Savannah Hill, Saint Jo
Defensive MVP: Brenna Briles, Forestburg
Blocker of the year: Kai Cearley, Prairie Valley
Setter of the year: Payzlie Cervantes, Saint Jo
Libero of the year: Renee Stout, Prairie Valley
Newcomer of the year: Mattie Broussard, Bellevue
Coach of the year: Belinda Lloyd, Prairie Valley

1st team
Maxey Johnson, Saint Jo; Kamron Skidmore, Saint Jo; Jordyn O’Neal, Saint Jo; Hallie Nelson, Gold-Burg; Natalee Young, Prairie Valley; Kennedy Stone, Prairie Valley; Linzie Priddy, Prairie Valley; Callie Martin, Bellevue; Tristan Shook, Bellevue; Braylee Briles, Forestburg

2nd team
Krista Reeves, Saint Jo; Reagan Wilson, Saint Jo; Tatum Morman, Saint Jo; Cara Vogel, Saint Jo; Averee Woodyard, Prairie Valley; Mary Grace Broussard, Bellevue; Brittany Gill, Bellevue; Taylor Griggs, Forestburg; Jocelyn Rich, Forestburg; Zara Andrade, Gold-Burg

Honorable mention
Megan Bain, Forestburg; Belle Smith, Forestburg; Selah Denson, Bellevue; Karis Denson, Bellevue; Chloe Broussard, Bellevue; McKayla Jensen, Gold-Burg; Alyson Rojas, Gold-Burg; Lexie Eaton, Gold-Burg; Abigail Renteria, Gold-Burg; Nevaeh Spann, Saint Jo; Abbie Pepper, Prairie Valley; Danyka Mancilla, Prairie Valley

Academic all-district
Saint Jo: Maxey Johnson, Krista Reeves, Taylor Patrick, Tatum Morman, Kamron Skidmore, Nevaeh Spann, Savannah Hill, Aubrey Morman, Cara Vogel, Jordyn O’Neal, Reagan Wilson, Payzlie Cervantes
Forestburg: Braylee Briles, Karman Willett, Morgan Walker, Doirsmar Gonzalez
Bellevue: Callie Martin, Brittany Gill, Mary Grace Broussard, Karisn Denson, Brooklyn Shook, Mattie Broussard
Gold-Burg: Hallie Nelson, Jocelyn Martinez, Zara Andrade
Prairie Valley: Linzie Priddy, Renee Stout, Natalee Young, Kai Cearley, Averee Woodyard, Abbie Pepper, Christy Anderson, Maloree Woodyard