SPORTS
Nocona comes back from 15 points to win area game 48-36

The Nocona Lady Indians were able to brush off a rough start to beat Merkel on Thursday night in the area round of the playoffs.
The Lady Indians made up a 15 point deficit in the second quarter to ultimately win 48-36 against the Lady Badgers.
Nocona came into the game with a lot of confidence and the favorites. The Lady Indians last loss came in early December and the team is ranked 13th in the most recent state poll.
Merkel was coming into the game looking for some revenge. In both 2019 and 2020 the Lady Badgers had lost to Nocona in the area round.
The district runner-ups were led by senior Alyssa O’Malley who is committed to Texas A&M-Kingsville. She was the focal point for a lot of the Lady Indians game plan heading into the game.
For whatever reason, Nocona did not start the game well for the second straight game. Unlike in its bi-district game against Eastland, this slow start showed clearly on the scoreboard.
The Lady Badgers trapping zone that was geared towards the perimeter seemed to make the Lady Indians hesitant to attack for whatever reason on offense. Shots that were thrown up were just not going in the basket in the first quarter.
On the other end, O’Malley and teammate Kyleigh Mauldin were finding each other with smart cuts off the ball. Merkel’s confidence continued to grow the longer Nocona went without scoring, taking advantage of some turnovers to score in transition and go up 10-0.
The Lady Indians first basket came with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter, but it did not spark things. The Lady Badgers finished the quarter on a 6-1 run as they led 16-3 heading into the second quarter.
Early on, Merkel’s lead peaked at 18-3 and things looked bleak unless Nocona’s offense would wake up.
Thankfully the Lady Indians’ defense found a new level after getting burned on some off ball movement in the first quarter. Raylee Sparkman drew the assignment to shadow/deny O’Malley the ball and she along with her teammates did a better job defending her the rest of the quarter.
Still Nocona was down 18-5 midway through the quarter despite already being in the bonus for drawing fouls. The team had found limited opportunities to push the ball in transition and girls still seemed hesitant attack the rim thanks to Merkel’s physical play and active hands.
That all changed in the two minutes.
Guards Megyn Meekins and Skyler Smith started getting into the paint and scoring, whether off of transition opportunities thanks to improved defense or just finding the soft spot for floaters.
Nocona went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 18-14 with a little less than two minutes to play. Eventually the Lady Indians took the lead 19-18 in the final second as a 3-pointer from Reagan Phipps went in.
Merkel did tie the score up 19-19 on a free throw in the final seconds before halftime, but the momentum had fully swung the Lady Indians way by that point.
The third quarter was the most competitive of the game.
Nocona got the lead early and led for most of the time. More players got in on the scoring action as five different players made at least one basket.
Merkel was not just laying down to quit though. After that long scoring drought in the second quarter, the team kept within one basket of Nocona for most of the third quarter.
O’Malley was still proving tough to contain as she scored six of her team’s 10 points. At one point the Lady Badgers even took back the lead 28-26 late in the quarter.
Nocona closed out the quarter well on a 7-1 run to go up 33-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
At some point in the third quarter the Lady Indians switched Meekins onto O’Malley to give Sparkman a break and for a different look.
Merkel cut Nocona’s lead back to one basket with a 3-pointer early in the quarter. The game’s pace slowed down in the fourth quarter as the Lady Indians were quick to look for a reason to start stalling the ball.
Up 39-34 with 4:06 left to play, Nocona started to run clock. Unfortunately, it led to steal and layup for the Lady Badgers that cut the lead to 39-36.
Another turnover gave Merkel an opportunity to get even closer, but the team missed on its possession. That would be as close as the Lady Badgers got.
Following a time out, Merkel tried to employ a full-court press, but Meekins broke through and was able to get all the way to the basket for a layup to up the lead to 41-36.
The defense held from there on out and Nocona forced the Lady Badgers to send players to the free throw line to save time.
The lead continued to grow as the Lady Indians made 7-8 of the free throws down the stretch while continuing to shut down Merkel on defense.
The Lady Badgers were dealt the final blow as O’Malley fouled out with 1:21 left in the game and Nocona up 10 points.
The Lady Indians made two more free throws as they won 48-36.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Baseball Roundup

Nocona
The Nocona Indians ended their regular season with a sweep of Alvord to secure a number one seed heading into the playoffs.
The Indians won 13-6 and 3-1 to earn the top seed in the big school division in the playoffs.
With that much on the line despite already securing a playoff spot the previous week, Nocona had a lot to play for in its final regular season series.
The Bulldogs got on the board first with two runs, but the Indians answered with nine runs in the bottom of the first inning to retake the lead 9-2.
Both teams scored one run in the third inning before Nocona scored three runs in the fourth inning to go up 13-3. Alvord was able to extend the game and avoid getting run-ruled by scoring two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth inning.
The Indian bats were cold in the final three innings, but the defense bounced back to shut out the Bulldogs in the seventh inning to win 13-6.
RJ Walker and Jayce Lehde each drove in three runs to lead the team while Ladon Fatheree and Zyrus Moreno both drove in two runs. Nocona finished with nine hits and drew nine walks during the game.
On the mound, Walker Murphey pitched six innings and allowed six runs (five earned) on 12 hits while striking out one and walking two.
The second game was more a pitcher’s duel that had far less action scoring runs.
The Indians scored first in the second inning with one run, but Alvord tied the game with one run in the fourth inning. Nocona answered with two runs in the fifth inning and held on to win 3-1.
Lehde and Fatheree drove in one run each while Murphey scored the other run on the basepaths thanks to a wild pitch. Nocona had only two hits while the team drew seven walks.
Walker helped carry the team on the mound, pitching the whole game while giving up one run on four hits and striking out 13 batters. The defense committed no fielding errors.
Bellevue
The Bellevue Eagles ended their season on Monday this week, losing some tough games on the way out before closing with a win.
The Eagles lost to Perrin-Whitt 13-1, to Bryson 17-2 before beating Saint Jo 7-2 to end the season on a high note.
Bellevue struggled against the two other 1A teams in its district in its previous matchups as both teams are heading towards the playoffs. Both the Pirates and Cowboys proved it once again in the final matchup on April 22 and Monday before playing a team more on its level.
The Eagles and Panthers were 1-1 against each other this season. Playing after Bellevue’s loss to against Bryson right before on Saint Jo’s home field, the Eagles wanted revenge.
Bellevue got it with a 7-2 win against the Panthers to end both team’s season and this year improve the series 2-1 in the Eagles favor.
River Trail led the team with two RBIs while Hunter Blackburn had a team high two hits.
The team finished with seven hits and drew 10 walks.
On the mound, Bryce Ramsey allowed two runs on nine hits while striking out seven and walking five. The defense committed one fielding error.
Saint Jo
The Saint Jo Panthers had a tough final week to their disappointing season.
The Panthers lost to Bryson 10-4 before losing to Bellevue 7-2 to close out their season.
Saint Jo knew it was out of the playoff hunt and was playing for pride as it hoped to end the season with its head held high.
The Panthers played the Cowboys on April 22 and were put behind the eight ball when Bryson rallied off seven runs in the third inning. Saint Jo closed the game well, but could not overcome that bad inning as it lost 10-4.
Sam Martin, Charlie Evans, Mathew Sampson and Jayden Curry each drove in one run each. Saint Jo had nine hits and drew six walks during the game.
Unfortunately, Saint Jo’s defense allowed 10 hits and nine walks while committing five fielding errors.
The Panthers then waited a week before ending their season on Monday, due to rain causing the game to be rescheduled, against Bellevue. Each team had beaten the other so far this season and with both teams out of the playoffs, it was a game about local pride more than anything.
Unfortunately for Saint Jo, it did not go its way on Monday. The Eagles scored in every inning besides the first and seventh inning while the Panthers only scored in the fourth inning. Bellevue won 7-2.
Devin Stewart led the team with two RBIs on a double he hit. The team finished with eight hits and drew six walks, but it was not enough to hang with the Eagles.
The pitching staff allowed only four hits, but three fielding errors and nine walks allowed Bellevue to rack up the runs.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
SPORTS
Jackrabbits end season with series sweep

The Bowie Jackrabbits finished their season last week with a dominant series sweep against Vernon.
The Jackrabbits won both games by run-rule 13-2 and 11-1 against the Lions.
Bowie came into the week with its playoff hopes shot after splitting with Holliday. The Jackrabbits were playing for pride and knew they had what it took to win decisively against Vernon and made sure to show it.
Game one did not start off great as the Lions scored two runs in the first inning, but Bowie answered with three runs of its own in the same inning, taking the lead 3-2 and never looking back.
The Jackrabbit defense shut down Vernon the rest of the game while scoring three runs in the second and fourth innings and four runs in the third inning.
It was enough to end the game early after four and half innings, Bowie winning 13-2 in its final home game on senior night.
Edmond De Leon led the team with four RBIs while Boston Farris, Trae Seigler and Jorge De Leon each had two RBIs. The team finished with 10 hits and drew seven walks as the team consistently found ways to score every inning of the game.
Farris got the start on the mound and allowed two runs on six hits while striking out seven and walking four during five innings of work. The defense committed no fielding errors.
The second game was on the road, but the Jackrabbits made sure not to start slow like they did in game one. Edmond De Leon blasted a three-run home run in the first inning to put Bowie up 3-0.
After a scoreless second inning, the Jackrabbits scored three runs in the third and fifth innings and two runs in the fourth inning. With the Lions scoring only one run in the third inning, that was all the run support Bowie needed to end the game early again after five innings.
The Jackrabbits won 11-1.
Edmond De Leon led the team with three RBIs while hitting a home run and a triple. Seigler and Austin Cheney drove in two runs. Bowie finished with 10 hits and drew six walks.
On the mound, Seigler pitched four innings and allowed one run (zero earned) on two hits while striking out and walking one batter. The defense committed three fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
For pictures from the last home game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874727&T=1
For pictures from senior night, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874728&T=1
SPORTS
Saint Jo softball loses to Knox City 21-7 in the playoffs

The Saint Jo Lady Panthers season ended on Thursday night in the bi-district round of the playoffs against Knox City.
The Houndettes won by run-rule 21-7 after six innings, ending the Lady Panthers year since the series was condensed to just one game.
Saint Jo came into the series after winning the district title, but knew Knox City would be tough. Still, the Lady Panthers had played in and won several games with high scores which gave them hope they could hang with whatever the Houndettes to could bring.
Knox City got on the board first, scoring on a three-run triple to go up 3-0. Saint Jo answered in the same inning with Kamron Skidmore driving in two runs on a single to cut the lead to 3-2.
In the third inning the Houndettes drove in five runs on a single, double and home run to increase their lead to 8-2. The Lady Panthers got one run back in the same inning thanks to a fielding error at third base that drove in one run to make it 8-3.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Knox City added to its lead in the fifth inning. A fielding error allowed one run to score and a three RBI triple added three more to make it 12-3.
In the sixth inning, the Houndettes reeled off nine runs to as it looked like the end was near for Saint Jo. Down 21-3, the Lady Panthers needed to score nine runs to avoid getting run-ruled.
Down to the final out, Saint Jo started a two-out rally. An error at short stop resulted in two runs to score. Jordyn O’Neal then ripped off a two RBI triple as the Lady Panthers had more than doubled their score.
Unfortunately that is where it would end. The next batter grounded out for the final out.
Knox City won 21-7.
Skidmore led the team with three RBIs while O’Neal was second with two. The team finished with seven hits and drew two walks, but it was not enough to keep up with the Houndettes who had 13 hits and drew 12 walks. Saint Jo committed two fielding errors.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
For more pictures from the game, click here https://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=bnews1&AID=6874729&T=1
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