Wellington teammates Presley Kane (2) and Hadlee Gomez celebrate after a made basket during a Class 2A regional semifinal clash against Sudan at the Caprock Activity Center on Saturday. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
The Wellington Lady Skyrockets can now legitimately hope the third time’s a charm this next week.
In Saturday afternoon’s Class 2A region semifinal at Caprock Activity Center, Wellington had few problems with Sudan. The Lady Skyrockets took advantage of Sudan’s offensive struggles and had few troubles after the opening minutes, coasting to a 51-23 victory to reach the Region I-2A final.
Waiting for Wellington (23-5) will be a familiar foe in Panhandle. A District 2-2A rival, Panhandle swept Wellington in the regular season, but the stakes will be much higher when the two teams meet Tuesday in a game tentatively scheduled for Pampa.
The Lady Rockets didn’t soar offensively for much of the game against Sudan (18-11), but they made up for it at the other end of the floor. Sudan’s leading scorer, Addison Boehning, committed three fouls in the first quarter, sidelining her for most of the first half, as Wellington never trailed.
“Defensively I felt we were locked in from the beginning and I think we maintained that throughout,” Wellington coach Chris Sumrall said. “Obviously we would have liked to have been a little bit better offensively but defensively we were good and if we can continue to do that I think it gives you a chance.”
Wellington led 10-4 at the end of the first quarter which was a mere prelude to the second quarter. Sudan didn’t manage a field goal in the second and scored only three points, as the Lady Rockets rolled to a 27-7 halftime lead to make the second half a mere formality.
Kyla Kane was at the forefront of Wellington’s offense getting untracked. She scored 10 points in the first half and eight in the second quarter en route to a game-high 16 points, as she was the only individual scorer in double figures.
“We were just focused on playing really good defense and not having a game this past week kind of set us back a little bit, but we got the chance to practice more so that helped,” Kane said. “I think the defensive rebounds helped us a lot.”
Sudan was never able to get untracked offensively even with Boehning back in the game. She still led Sudan with nine points, seven of them in the third quarter.
Hadlee Gomez had nine points for Wellington.
Sudan 4 7 15 23
Wellington 10 27 38 51
S— Addison Boehning 9, Stevi Lockhart 4. W— Kyla Kane 16, Hadlee Gomez 9. Records: Sudan 18-11, Wellington 23-5.
The Canyon Lady Eagles celebrate after beating Glen Rose, 52-27, in a Class 4A regional semifinal Saturday in Colorado City. [Provided photo]
Canyon soars past Glen Rose
The Canyon Lady Eagles got back to a place they hadn’t been in three years, as they routed Glen Rose 53-27 in a Class 4A regional semifinal to earn a spot in the region final next week.
Perennial power Canyon (28-1) will play Bridgeport (20-7) in the region final for the right to go to the state semifinals. The matchup with the Sissies has yet to be determined.
The Lady Eagles last got this far in 2018, when they were in Class 5A.
Canyon jumped out to a 17-7 first quarter and never looked back. Kenadee Winfrey had a game-high 12 points for the Lady Eagles while Chloe Callahan scored 11.
Canyon 17 23 38 53
Glen Rose 7 10 15 27
C— Kenadee Winfrey 12, Chloe Callahan 11. GR— Douglas 9. Records: Canyon 28-1, Glen Rose 26-4.
