The Nocona Lady Indians were able to finish in third place at the Decatur tournament on Monday and Tuesday.
The Lady Indians went 2-1 overall while playing against much bigger schools in the process.
Nocona is only in its second week with its full roster in a season that is expected to be another ambitious one, eying the state tournament.
To do that is to challenge itself against bigger schools that provide unique teams and players it most likely won’t have to face at the top of 2A, but is good to experience either way.
The Lady Indians started the tournament playing a 4A Randall team that had won 27 games.
It was a close game throughout. Nocona held a slight lead for most of the game and went into the fourth quarter holding a one-point lead 33-32.
The final period was an explosion of offense for both teams. The Lady Indians did a good job of playing with the lead and making free throws down the stretch to make it pay while the Lady Raiders had their leading scorer get hot. Nocona’s Meg Meekins did as well, scoring 17 of her team high 30 points in the fourth quarter.
The Lady Indians scored 26 points to help them hold on to win 59-51. Reagan Phipps was second on the team with 12 points, with nine coming in the fourth quarter.
The second game was against 5A Anna team that is coming off a 20 win season that won first place in its district.
The Lady Coyotes proved to be too much for Nocona as it won 68-51. The Lady Indians were trying to play catch-up from the start and just could not match Anna.
Meekins led the team with 23 points while Phipps again was second with 12 points.
Nocona played its final match of the tournament against private school RWG STEM from Arlington. Like most teams, the Lady Lions had a height advantage at most positions, but especially in the post in this game.
The Lady Indians gave extra attention on defense and had a pretty good 31-22 lead at halftime. RWG came back with a big third quarter to tie the score up at 38-38.
After a tight fourth quarter that saw both teams make clutch baskets down the stretch, the score was tied at 52-52 and the game headed to overtime.
Nocona made two quick 3-pointers to start the period to give itself the lead and was able to play with the lead and control the clock until the end of the game. The Lady Indians won 61-55.
Meekins led the team with 21 points as she was named to the all-tournament team. Aubree Kleinhans had her best offensive performance of the tournament, scoring 18 points.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. For more pictures from the tournament, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870776&T=1

The Bowie Lady Rabbits had a good two days playing basketball at their hosted Gayno Shelton Hoopin’ into the Holidays Tournament on Monday and Tuesday.
The Lady Rabbits went 2-2 overall as the tournament was formatted to play two games each day and did not feature brackets or championships.
Bowie started off the tournament on a strong note against Tioga. Featuring the team’s biggest offensive total so far, the Lady Rabbits beat the Lady Bulldogs in dominant fashion 61-22.
Bowie made 10 3-pointers in the game while on defense it pitched a rare shut out in the third quarter. Laney Enlow led the team with 12 points and Railey Martin score nine points while making three 3-pointers. Parker Riddle, Payton Holt and Laney Segura each pitched in eight points.
It was a good blowout win for the team because the next game saw the Lady Rabbits on the other side of it. State-ranked 2A team Muenster showed Bowie how far it still needs to go.
The Lady Hornets won 47-19 as the Lady Rabbits had trouble scoring throughout the game. Bowie did not start the game great, giving up 25 points in the first quarter. On the bright side, the team limited Muenster to single-digit quarter totals in the second and fourth quarter.
Riddle led the team with five points and Segura was second with four points.
Bowie made only one 3-pointer after making 10 the previous game and went 8-16 at the free throw line.
The Lady Rabbits were able to shake off that performance at the start of day two, playing against Millsap.
It was another rout for Bowie as everything seemed to be working for the Lady Rabbits. Bowie limited the Lady Bulldogs to only two points in the first quarter and won 57-22.
Segura led the team with 14 points while Martin was second with nine points, all coming from 3-point land.
Five other players finished with six points or more in another great showing on both sides of the court.
The Lady Rabbits final game of the tournament was the last one on Tuesday. It was the most competitive game of the tournament for Bowie, but unfortunately the Lady Rabbits fell to fellow 3A team Bells 48-37.
Bowie started the game with the lead and led 25-21 at halftime, but unfortunately switched up tactics from the Lady Panthers allowed them to grab control in the third quarter and extend their lead in the fourth quarter.
Hanna Bell led the team with 15 points and Enlow was second with eight points.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News. To see more pictures from the tournament, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6870777&T=1

Bowie girls
The Bowie Lady Rabbits won a close game at home on Saturday against Graham.
The Lady Rabbits won 41-38 against the Lady Blues, the team’s second straight game where Bowie was able to win by a close margin.
The teams played a nearly even first quarter as both team’s offenses had a little trouble finding some rhythm. Both teams made three baskets by three different players, including one 3-pointer. The only difference was Bowie made its two free throws while the Lady Blues did not, which was crucial since neither team had a day to remember at the charity stripe. The Lady Rabbits led 9-7.
There was a bit more offense in the second quarter from both teams. Bowie made two three pointers and balanced that with some scores inside for 12 points. Graham scored 12 points as well. The Lady Rabbits 21-19 at halftime.
The third quarter was another slog offensively for both teams. Thankfully, Bowie made two 3-pointers and were 2-4 from the free throw line for eight points, which was two points better than Graham.
The Lady Rabbits led 29-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
Both teams had the best offensive performance in the final period. Bowie got a boost from Parker Riddle who scored all seven of her points in the quarter. Three more players added a basket or point to just edge out the Lady Blues in the end 41-38.

Bowie boys
The Bowie Jackrabbits beat up on an undermanned Graham team at home on Saturday.
The Jackrabbits won 41-12 against a Steers team that was missing players who are still in football.
The first quarter was a slog as both teams combined to make three baskets. Thankfully, Bowie led 6-4. The second quarter was not much better as the Jackrabbits scored seven and Graham five. Bowie led 13-9 at halftime.
The Jackrabbits turned the game around in the third quarter, more than doubling their first half total with 17 points and holding the Steers to a rare shutout during the period. Bowie led 30-9 heading into the final period and had the game in hand.
Still, the Jackrabbits did not want to coast to the finish. The team scored 11 points in the fourth quarter while only allowing Graham to score one basket, the only points in the entire second half.
Bowie won 41-12.

Nocona girls
The Nocona Lady Indians won a tough game at Krum on Friday night to get their first win with their full team now that volleyball is over.
The Lady Indians won a low-scoring game 37-31 against the 4A Lady Cats.
Nocona was coming off a loss against 3A Paradise earlier in the week.
It was slow going and close from the start as the Lady Indians led 9-8 after the first quarter and 19-16 at halftime. Krum cut the lead to just one point heading into the final period 26-25. Nocona was able to get a little room with ball control and free throws to earn the victory 37-31.
Meg Meekins led the team with 20 points, five steals and four assists. Avery Crutsinger and Bayler Smith were second with five points each. Aubree Kleinhans grabbed a team high eight rebounds to go with four points.

Saint Jo girls
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers opened their season on Friday at Petrolia by picking up a big win.
The Lady Panthers won 51-29 against the 2A Lady Pirates.
Saint Jo used their tough full-court press and fast paced style of play to pull away from Petrolia from the start of the game.
Payzlie Cervantes led the team with 19 points. Taylor Patrick had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Jordyn O’Neal had nine points and a team high five assists.
Krista Reeves had a team high seven steals to go with four points while Aubrey Morman had three blocks in the paint.

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