District basketball carried on Tuesday with action across the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. In District 3-5A, Palo Duro rallied for a win over Lubbock-Cooper giving longtime head coach AJ Johnson his 600th career win. Tascosa downed Caprock and Shallowater continued to roll in District 2-3A.
District 3-5A girls
Palo Duro’s AJ Johnson gets 600th career win
It was a special night at the Palo Duro Activity Center on Tuesday, as longtime Lady Dons head coach AJ Johnson achieved quite the milestone.
Thanks to a second half rally by his Palo Duro team during a 41-38 home win against Lubbock-Cooper in a District 3-5A clash, Johnson was able to celebrate his 600th career victory. Johnson has been coaching basketball 31 years at Palo Duro with over 500 of those wins coming at the school.
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“This is great for our community,” Palo Duro head coach AJ Johnson said. “We’ve had a lot of coaches and a lot players come through here that have helped get these wins. It meant a lot to see a lot of former players comeback for this. I remember win No. 300, my daughter was here to hand me the plaque. I had my granddaughter on the team now and it was great. There is a lot of trials and tribulations as a coach. This was a great thing for this team.”
This monumental victory wasn’t easy. The Lady Dons trailed by 10 to the Lady Pirates at half, and didn’t score a point in the second quarter. In the second half, Palo Duro was able to rally back taking the lead in the final two minutes to claim the win.
Zeinab Deng was instrumental in the comeback scoring a game-high 14 points with teammate Taylee Meander adding 10 points.
The Lady Dons get their first district win improving to 1-1 while going to 14-2 overall. Lubbock-Cooper falls to 8-4 on the year and 0-1.
Tascosa cruises by Caprock
The Tascosa Lady Rebels stayed hot getting another lopsided win, this time against crosstown rival Caprock 77-19 during a District 3-5A game Tuesday night at the Caprock Activity Center.
The Lady Rebels have started off the season at 14-1 and are now a perfect 2-0 in league play. Caprock (9-5) suffers its first district loss, dropping to 1-1.
Tascosa started fast in this game going up 23-11 after the first quarter then building a 41-17 lead by halftime. The Lady Rebels had four players finish in double-digits with Devaeh Johnson leading the way with 16 points. Angel Green registered 12 with teammates Kenzee Dickson and Alex Carter each chipping in 10.
Amarillo High takes down Lubbock Coronado
Amarillo High used a big second half to take down Lubbock Coronado on the road with a 55-36 victory in a District 3-5A clash Tuesday night.
The Lady Mustangs were able to hang around in the first half trailing the Lady Sandies 20-11 at the break. In the second half, AHS started to pull away going up 40-26 after three quarters, then outscoring Coronado 15-10 in the final frame.
Tyler Held paced the Lady Sandies with a game-high 15 points. Teammate Ella Brown went for 13 points and Memori Hibbler posted 10. Coronado’s Ciara Montes had a team-high nine points.
AHS (14-3 overall) keeps pace with Tascosa at 2-0 in district action. Coronado is now 1-1 in the league and 4-12.
Ambrosia Cole leads Monterey past Plainview
Talented Lubbock Monterey guard Ambrosia Cole put the Lady Plainsman on her back during a 63-47 win over Plainview in a District 3-5A game Tuesday.
Cole was unstoppable in the win, pouring in a game-high 37 points, and pulled down six boards. Teammate Ari Johnson was just as clutch in the win going for a double-double, posting 20 points with 15 rebounds.
Plainview’s Ailey Kerbo had a team-high 19 despite the loss. Monterey gets its first district win, moving to 1-1 and 11-5 overall. The Lady Bulldogs fall to 10-5 overall and 0-2 in district.
Tuesday’s district scores
District 2-3A
(Girls)
Shallowater 79, Littlefield 55
Friona 45, Lubbock Roosevelt 39
Idalou 59, Muleshoe 26
Dimmitt 52, Lubbock Talkington 23
District 2-3A
(Boys)
Shallowater 56, Littlefield 43
Lubbock Roosevelt 47, Friona 36
Idalou 66, Muleshoe 36
District 2-1A
(Girls)
Claude 49, McLean 41
Shamrock 49, Lefors 15