Both Nocona basketball teams got to take the long two hour drive to district newcomer Childress on Tuesday and unfortunately both teams got to make the long drive back empty handed.
The boys lost 46-39 to a team no one knows yet while the girls lost 57-55 in what many people were calling an upset.
The Lady Indians came into Tuesday night 3-0 in district winning by an average of 27 points and only two losses in pre-district.
It seemed like they were on a collision course to play rival Bowie to see who would be at the top of the district standings when all was said and done.
With the Lady Rabbits beating the unknown Lady Cats by 13 the previous week, it seemed like Nocona would be able to win if they played well.
The whole game something just seemed off according to Coach Kyle Spitzer. Childress made it a chore to get the ball to leading scorer and ball handler Averee Kleinhans by denying her the ball and doubling her on inbound plays.
While it did not stop her or slow her down much as she still scored 20 points, it threw off the rhythm of the offense in a game where for whatever reason the Lady Cats made them uncomfortable.
The first half was high scoring and close as Childress led 33-32. The Lady Cats had their own top scorer in Grace Foster, who could score both inside and out. She finished with 28 points and gave Nocona all they could handle.
It came down to the wire at the end and the Lady Indians had a chance to win it with a three-pointer at the buzzer, but the contested shot missed as Childress won 57-55.
The Indians team was still searching for their first district win. Coach Colby Schniederjan liked how his team fought and thought they handled the Bobcats’ pressure well. A bad night at the free throw line, going 8-16, and not attacking the rim enough were things Schniederjan wanted to be better. Still there were things to be proud of.
“We held a team that had just scored 85 to 47,” Schniederjan said. “We rebounded well. We hit shots. We were unable to close out the game when we had opportunities.”
Jason Sparkman and Rowdy Waters each had eight points in the balanced scoring attack to lead the team.
Despite an 0-2 start, they were against teams who have a good chance of making the playoffs out of the district and there is still time to get in rhythm.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.