Nazareth survives Whiteface in regional semi’sÂ
It was another stiff test for the No. 5-ranked Nazareth Swiftettes, but in the end they passed coming from behind to beat a very good Whiteface team in a 23-20 slugfest during the Region I-1A semifinals at the Texan Dome in Levelland on Friday afternoon.
The tradition rich Swiftettes (25-10), who are the defending UIL Class 1A state champions, move on to play Valley (36-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday for a trip back to San Antonio.
Defense and a hard time of both teams getting into an offensive rhythm were the story of this contest. Nazareth led 6-0 by the end of the first quarter only to see the Lady Antelopes (30-5) battle back to trail 13-11 by halftime.
In the second half, Whiteface took an 18-16 lead after three, however, Nazareth was tough down the stretch outscoring the Lady Antelope 7-2 in the final quarter to get the three-point victory.
Brooklyn Birkenfeld provided the offense scoring 13 of Nazareth’s 23 points with Tatum Peterson adding nine. Morgan Waggoner led Whiteface with six.
Valley cruises past Borden CountyÂ
Unlike Nazareth, the No. 1-ranked Valley Lady Patriots had no issues rolling past Borden County in their Regional I-1A semifinal with a very convincing 62-32 win on Friday afternoon at the Texan Dome in Levelland.
The Lady Patriots (36-2) will make their first regional final in two years and will now play the defending UIL Class 1A state champion Nazareth Swiftettes (25-10) at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Valley broke the game wide open in the second quarter. Leading 14-11 after one, the Lady Patriots took off with hot shooting outscoring Borden County 17-3 in the second to go up 31-14 at the half. It was more of the same in the second half as Valley went up by 19 after three and put it on cruise control in the fourth frame.
Lady Patriot guard Reece Cruse lit up Borden County (16-5) for a game-high 21 points followed by teammate Trinity Schlueter’s 17 points.