Ambition for a successful season has to start some place, and Saturday afternoon at the Leslie Broadhurst Gym on the campus of Randall High School, it was on full display featuring a number of girls Texas Panhandle and South Plains area high school basketball teams.
In the middle of a seven-game bill as part of the 4th Annual Jim Wilcoxson Showcase, Class 5A Tascosa (ranked No. 2 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches) and Class 6A Frenship (ranked No. 10) clashed in an early season test which would say a lot about both teams.
Tascosa ended up making the biggest statement at the end of the day, taking over in the second half to pull out a 48-38 victory.
The rest of this story is only for subscribers.
While it wasn’t a home game, it was the first game in Amarillo for Tascosa under new coach Zac Tabor, who’s begun his career at the helm of the Lady Rebels with an auspicious 4-0 start. Very quickly, Tabor has seen how his team reacts to quality competition.
“I feel we’ve played some really good teams and we’ve been very fortunate to get out to some big leads against those teams,” Tabor said. “Going into this game knew Frenship was really, really good. They have a great tradition and we know that they weren’t going to hurt themselves and that we were going to have to play well.”
Tascosa didn’t have much of a cushion in the first half and was in a tight struggle against the Lady Tigers (2-2), clinging to a 20-18 halftime lead. That’s when the Lady Rebels found their range from beyond the 3-point arc.
They hit five threes in the third quarter, including two by Alex Carter to take a 40-31 lead at the end of the period. Tascosa never turned the game into a rout, but the Lady Rebels led comfortably through the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 14 points.
The Lady Rebels hit 10 3-pointers on the game with seven in the second half, including four by Carter, who led Tascosa with 15 points. Tabor said that approach wasn’t necessarily by design.
“Really, we want to go inside,” Tabor said. “We talk about us playing inside out so we want to try to get it inside and have teams collapse there, then we’ll kick it out for outside shots. Fortunately we heated up in the second half and got things going as Carter hit several.”
It didn’t help the Lady Tigers that they weren’t at full strength most of the second half. Early in the third quarter, junior Jada Jackson, a 6-foot-2 post, went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury and didn’t return.
That only exacerbated a situation where offense had been hard to come by for most of the game against the Lady Rebels. Jackson had sprained the ankle a month ago and tweaked it, and was held out mainly as a precautionary measure.
“We knew that they were super quick and they can score at every position,” said Frenship coach Trent Hilliard of the Lady Rebels. “We’ve seen it over and over watching film. We need to play the most athletic teams we can to prepare us for the playoffs and playing Tascosa is one of those things.”
Kenzee Dickson scored 10 points for the Lady Rebels. Addisyn Bollinger was Frenship’s lone scorer in double figures with a game-high 16 points, and she kept the Lady Tigers competitive by scoring 11 of them in the second half.
Tabor, who previously coached at San Antonio Reagan, took over at Tascosa after Chris Sumrall retired as head coach. He inherited a roster which included six seniors, and says so far the transition has been smooth.
“We’re trying to get better for the future,” Tabor said. “There’s definitely been a feeling out period. Coach Sumrall did a really good job with them so I’m kind of benefiting from that. All the kids are great for buying into what we’re doing and they’re playing the way we want them to.”
Canyon crushes Canadian
It looks like the beat will go on for Canyon, if early returns are any indication. The always formidable Lady Eagles, ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, showed Canadian (No. 9 in Class 3A) no mercy in rolling to a 79-18 victory.
Canyon (2-0) has always been known for stifling defense, but the Lady Eagles took things to another level, holding Canadian scoreless in the second quarter en route to taking a 40-6 halftime lead which made the second half a mere formality.
So effective was Canyon defensively that two Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Wildcats by themselves. Seniors Kambrie Graser and Tai Wright scored 26 and 20 points respectively.
“We’ve got some new players on our team and some returning players in some new roles so kind of blending all that together and trying to find our identity is our goal,” Canyon coach Tate Lombard said. “I was real proud of the way we shared the ball well and we defended well like we’ll have to do all year. (Graser and Wright) have been around for awhile and I think they’re taking on a leadership role.”
Graser hit six 3-pointers and Wright made four. Sophomore Braylee Crockett came off the bench to score 10 points for Canyon. Kylie Cavalier led Canadian with eight points.
Nazareth cruises by Randall
Defending Class 1A state champion and preseason No. 1 Nazareth continues to prove that classifications are no obstacle. The Swiftettes took over in the third quarter against 4A host Randall and coasted to a 59-44 victory to send notice that they’ll once again be a title contender.
Nazareth (2-1) used balanced scoring to get going against Randall (0-2), with four players in double digits. Kambri Cleavinger led the Swiftettes with 19 points, including 11 in the second half. Jolee Pigg had 15 (12 in the first half) and Madison Brockman and Lexi Ramaekers scored 10 apiece.
“I like where we’re at with this group,” Nazareth coach Eric Schilling said. “We have some experience and we have some young ones too that we’re trying to develop and figure out some rotations. They’ve been through it and the only effect that last year has on this team is they want to do it again. I’m pleased with how they’re figuring each other out.”
Randall, meanwhile, doesn’t have a single senior on the roster. Carmella Guerrero and Kennah Thomas both had 14 points for the Lady Raiders, but only three other players scored.
The Lady Raiders did get a victory before the game, or at least coach Brooke Walthall did. Walthall was presented with a sportsmanship award for last season from the Amarillo Chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials.
Jim Wilcoxson Showcase quick hits
The day opened with Bushland beating Pampa 54-38. Samantha Grice led Bushland with 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, while Gracie Williams and Braylen Hall both had 10. Emmy Boutsamaly led Pampa with 14 points and Brooklyn Warren had 11.
In the day’s most competitive game, Farwell beat Wellington 46-40 in overtime. Farwell’s Ava Jaime and Avery Miller both scored 13 points, with Jaime scoring seven in overtime. Brynlee Proffitt led Wellington with 13.
Panhandle, ranked No. 3 in 2A, rolled past Texline, No. 13 in 1A, 56-39. Allie Ashley led Panhandle with 13 while Riley Segura added 12. Texline’s Jada Clay scored a game-high 18 points while Alexandra Montes added 10.
Amarillo High Sandies rout Randall
The day actually ended with the boys teams taking centerstage in a Battle of Bell Street.
Amarillo High got the better end of it by far, almost doubling the score to beat host Randall 87-44.
It was the season opener for Amarillo High, but the Sandies looked in midseason form shooting the ball, hitting an astonishing 19 3-pointers. Bil Ismail had six of those en route to a game-high 23 points. Jaxson Richards scored 19 points (including five threes) and Ty Hornecker scored 10.
Eddie Cruz was the only scorer in double figures for Randall (1-1) with 14 points.