Both Bowie basketball teams were able to pick up important district wins at Henrietta on Friday night.
The Lady Rabbits won with little issue 62-31 against an overwhelmed Lady Cats team while the Rabbits again beat a good Bearcats’ team by double-digits 59-41.
The Bowie girls came into the game expecting to win against a Henrietta team with no district wins. Still, the Lady Rabbits could not afford to drop any games in order to keep its third place in the district standings. A dominant win would also keep up the good momentum the team has played with since entering district play.
Bowie started fast, pressuring the ball with a full-court press to really challenge the Lady Cat ball handlers. This led to some easy offense as the Lady Rabbits got out to an 18-6 lead after the first quarter.
Things weren’t much different in the second quarter as Bowie built its lead to a comfortable 34-13 at halftime.
Even with the press going from full to half court, the Lady Cats never really got going on offense in the second half. Bowie’s offense slowed down a tick with the defense being less aggressive, but still outscored Henrietta every quarter to continue to build its lead.
Bowie would win easily 62-31.
The boy’s game had a bit more stakes to it. Bowie could not afford to lose any game to try and stay or improve its second place in the district standings. Henrietta was coming off a disappointing loss at Nocona that had knocked them from playoff contention unless it could pull off some wins like beating the Jackrabbits the second time around.
Bowie came out of the gate well, shutting down the Bearcats on defense while making four 3-pointers in the first quarter to take a 14-2 lead. Henrietta recovered a bit in the second quarter scoring some baskets and earning free throw attempts.
Bowie was not having much luck offensively except for making 3-pointers. The Jackrabbits made three more in the second quarter as it helped them keep their lead in good condition up 25-16 at halftime. The team was living off of its 3-point success, making seven in the first half while scoring only two regular field goals and shooting no free throws. Something needed to change.
The defense tightened up again in the third quarter for Bowie as the team kept Henrietta under double-digits. The Jackrabbits only did a little better on offense outscoring the Bearcats 12-9, but they had diversified their scoring a bit and drew a free throw attempt around the basket.
Bowie led 37-25 heading into the fourth quarter. The Jackrabbits closed the game well, with Cade Thompson drawing six free throws and the team making three more 3-pointers.
The team scored a game high 22 points to close the game which never allowed Henrietta to catch up. Bowie won 59-41.

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