SPORTS
Lady Indians heading back to regionals
The Nocona Lady Indians are heading back to the regional tournament this weekend after beating Cisco on Tuesday night in Graham.
The Lady Indians won 56-48 against the Lady Loboes in a game that got harry at the end.
Nocona came into the game as favorites, with 31 wins and ranked ninth in the state in 2A according to the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll, and second in Max Preps rankings.
It was not expected to be an easy game for the Lady Indians which they had made it look like since the beginning of January.
Cisco had 27 wins and were ranked 15th in the state in the TABC poll and sixth in the Max Preps rankings.
Not only that, the Lady Loboes were Nocona’s stylistic opposites.
The Lady Indians are used to playing with a size disadvantage, either vertically or horizontally which they overcome with feisty help defense and fast paced play on offense.
Cisco had a player who both towered over and had much more size than any Nocona player. Brooklyn Hurtado was listed at 6’3” and had several pounds on the Lady Indians post player Avery Crutsinger who is listed at 5’8.”
It was not just size though as the Lady Loboes whole offense is predicated on trying to get Hurtado the ball in the post and working from there.
The first quarter was competitive and close as Nocona made four 3-pointers and led 12-11.
The Lady Indians defense started to lock in on really preventing Hurtado from touching the ball, which threw off Cisco in the second and third quarters as the team failed to score in double-digits.
Skyler Smith carried Nocona’s offense in the second quarter, scoring eight of the team’s 18 points as the team started to pull ahead even with Meg Meekins falling into foul trouble. The Lady Indians led 30-19 at halftime.
Nocona kept it up in the third quarter on offense, with Meekins carrying the load and scoring nine points and Reagan Phipps making two 3-pointers.
The Lady Indians led 47-28 and looked like they were going to cruise to an ending with little drama in the final period..
Nocona took the gas off the pedal offensively to run some clock per Coach Kyle Spitzer’s instructions, though the directive was not to hold the ball.
That got the Lady Indians out of their offensive groove which left the door open for the Lady Loboes.
Cisco’s Hurtado had scored only four points in the first three quarters and Nocona was daring her teammates to beat them from the 3-point line.
The Lady Loboes had some relative success at it, making four 3-pointers in the first three quarters. With their backs against the wall with the season on the line, Cisco players took more chances and were more aggressive offensively.
The Lady Loboes made three 3-pointers in the final period and players who Nocona expected to not make shots were coming through for them.
Cisco had come all the way back to cut it to six points 49-43 with 53 seconds left when Smith fouled out for the Lady Indians.
Thankfully, Nocona was able to take care of the ball and were forced onto the free throw line four times in the final minute.
Meekins came through, going 7-8 at the line in the quarter while scoring all nine of the Lady Indians points in the final quarter.
It was enough to hold off the Lady Loboes as Nocona won 56-48.
to read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
It was announced last week Nocona Athletic director/football coach Blake Crutsinger is resigning from his position at the school after serving four years.
Crutsinger said now is the time for his family to make the move, with his daughter Avery graduating after spending four years at Nocona and with his son Kellar about to enter high school and wanting the same for him at another school.
“With her going off to college, she had a really good four years here and just looking at Keller heading into high school and exploring some opportunities that might be better for him, it is just time,” Crutsinger said.
Crutsinger went 19-22 overall, helping the Indians to two playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. The team’s best season was 2023, when it went 8-2 and won the district title, the first one in 11 years for the program.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Saint Jo senior Payzlie Cervantes signed her letter of intent to play college basketball last week at Highland College in Kansas. She also played volleyball, softball and ran track at Saint Jo. “After talking with Coach Tana Coleman, I really connected with her and loved the campus vibe and direction she wants for the team,” Cervantes said. “I’m looking forward to continuing my basketball career while getting my associates degree in nursing to become a registered nurse.”
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
Last week Montague County had five girls from Bowie and Saint Jo compete at the state tennis tournament, and one team brought back some hardware.
Sisters from Bowie, junior Heidi and freshman Willow Siebert brought back a bronze medal competing in the 3A girl’s doubles bracket.
The pair were the first people from the program to make it back to state since their half sisters, Meagan and Myah Russell, advanced nine years previously.
The Sieberts came into state as a two-seed, having finished second at the regional tournament the previous week.
The duo was ready as they blew through their first two matches. They beat a team from Hondo in the first round with the scores being 6-1, 6-1 and dominated even more in the second round against a team from Tatum, winning 6-0, 6-1.
That got them through to the second day of the tournament, but Coach Dayna Boothe was worried they had had it too easy on day one.
Playing in the semifinals, the Lady Rabbits faced a familiar foe, a team from Peaster they had beaten in the regional tournament the previous week. Unfortunately, near the end of the first set, with the Sieberts fighting to stay alive, Heidi went after a high lob and slammed into the fence. She hurt her right arm and had to play through it for the rest of the match.
They lost the match with the scores being 6-3, 6-3.
It was an all Peaster final, with the other side of the bracket producing the team that both beat the Sieberts at the regional tournament and won their second straight state title.
Still, despite the disappointment, Bowie is bringing back a bronze medal. According to Boothe, after contacting people who would know dating back to the late 1970s, it could possibly be the program’s first medals from the state tournament in tennis.
Of course, Bowie was not the only school represented. Saint Jo had Taylor Patrick competing in girl’s singles and the team of Bailie Nobile and Maxey Johnson competing in girl’s doubles in the 1A classification.
Senior Patrick was making her third appearance at the state tournament, but her first in the singles competition.
She finished third at the regional meet which meant she had a tough first round matchup against a second seed from Fort Davis.
It took everything from Patrick in a match that lasted two and a half hours. She went down in the first set 6-2, but rebounded in a tight second set to win 6-4 to force a third and final set. She had the momentum and won 6-2 to move on.
She had to summon the energy to play later that day against a fresh one-seed player from Utopia. Patrick lost 6-1, 6-1 to end her Saint Jo career. Her opponent would go on to finish second.
Juniors Johnson and Nobile were making their first appearances at the state meet after finishing second at the regional tournament. In the first round they played a tough match against a team from Marathon. It seemed evenly matched throughout, but small mistakes at inopportune times cost them throughout the match. In the end, the team lost by the scores of 6-3, 6-3.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekly edition of the Bowie News.
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