Shallowater sinks Childress in Class 3A regional quarterfinals

 

A second quarter surge gave Shallowater the push it needed to take down Childress as the Fillies walked out of the Joe Lombard Gymnasium in Canyon with a 53-45 win in a Class 3A regional quarterfinal on Monday night.

Shallowater takes two out of the three meetings between the two District 2-3A foes after the two split during the regular season.

The Lady Bobcats, who finish at 25-10 overall, opened the game hot with a 17-12 first quarter lead. Childress guard Aspen Lomax set the tone with five points in the opening frame. Childress took a 21-15 advantage into the 5:30 mark of the second half and that’s when the tide started to turn for the Fillies behind senior leader Madi Barnes. Shallowater clamped down on defense and started finding its rhythm on the offensive end to go on a 9-0 run down the stretch of the second quarter, and finish on a 14-3 run to take a 29-24 lead into halftime. Barnes sparked the rally scoring eight points during the spurt including two three-point plays off hoop and harms.

“Our defense is pretty strong after the first quarter,” Barnes said. “We struggled early but really picked it up and watched the fouls. I think being able to score really helped us on the defensive end.”

The third quarter started out much of the same as the second ended. The Fillies scored five quick points gaining their first double digit lead at 34-24 with five minutes left in the third. Meanwhile, Childress continued to struggle offensively not getting its first field goal of the second half until the 2:14 mark of the third. The nail in the coffin for Lady Bobcats then came at the hands of senior Avery Terrell. Terrell had been held scoreless but woke up when it counted draining back-to-back 3-pointers giving Shallowater its biggest lead at 44-31 with 6:45 to play. Moments later, Terrell hit her third 3-pointer of the quarter that put Shallowater up 49-35. Childress never stopped fighting going on a 7-0 run late in the fourth to cut the lead, 49-42, but never came any closer.

“We challenged the team to do a better job of on the ball defense,” Shallowater first-year head coach Kurt Richardson said. “They were getting by us very easily early in the first quarter. When we have to help that leaves them open and they shoot it extremely well. We started blocking out and making shots. It was just a matter of getting in front of them and we did that.”

Childress head coach Shannon Fisher echoed Richardson’s comments.

“I think Shallowater did an outstanding job defensively,” Fisher said. “I also feel after the first quarter we didn’t have the go button going. We were reserved on our attacking but give credit to them. They stayed in front of us, and they earned it. I don’t think we played our best on defense. We left shooters open which you can’t do. But I’m proud of my team. They’ve fought all year.”

Barnes was the MVP of the game pouring in a game-high 21 for Shallowater with nine of those points coming in the second quarter.

“We knew Madi (Barnes) would be a matchup problem with her size and speed,” Richardson said. “She’s been playing great all year and it’s great to see her have this type of a game on this type of a stage at this point in the season. She works hard and is a leader.”

Terrell added nine points off her clutch shooting from beyond the arc and Richardson’s daughter, Kinleigh, added nine. Lomax led Childress with 13 points followed by Chloe Tiechelman’s 12.

Shallowater (27-10) advances to the Region I-3A Tournament at Frenship High School to square off with No. 3-ranked Holliday (30-3) on Friday.

Childress       17  24  29  45
Shallowater  12  29  38  53
C- Aspen Lomax 13, Chloe Tiechelman 12, Cameran Daniel 10. S- Madi Barnes 21, Kinleigh Richardson 9, Avery Terrell 9. Records: Childress 25-10; Shallowater 27-10.