Class 4A
Randall routs Irvin to advance
The Randall Lady Raiders took care of business at Andrews early Friday afternoon, and in the process did something they hadn’t done in over two decades.
Randall jumped on El Paso Irvin early and never looked back, rolling to a 58-36 victory to advance to the region quarterfinals for the second straight season. This is the first time in over two decades that Randall has made the region quarters in consecutive seasons. Randall will now face off with El Paso Riverside (26-5) at a time and place to be determined. Riverside beat Randall’s district foe, Pampa, 39-29, on Friday night.
The Lady Raiders (26-9) never trailed in jumping out to a 19-4 lead early in the second quarter. Irvin (20-10) only got within double digits once in the second quarter, and the Lady Raiders steadily built their lead and coasted in the second half.
“It was a little gritty and ugly but we like wins at this time of the season, so it was good,” Randall coach Brooke Walthall said.
Randall had a balanced attack with four scorers in double figures. Ashley Norman had 15 points, Sadie Sanchez and Avri Burk both had 11 and Layla Romero scored 10.
Irvin had just one player in double digits, as Analicia Sifuentes had 11.
El Paso Irvin 4 14 24 36
Randall 15 25 43 58
EPI– Analicia Sifuentes 11, Priscilla Garcia 9. R– Ashley Norman 15, Sadie Sanchez 11, Avri Burk 11, Layla Romero 10. Records: Irvin 20-10; Randall 26-9.
Class 3A
Bushland soars past Crane
Bushland shot lights out on the night to dominate Crane 55-30 in the Class 3A area round at Frenship on Friday night.
The Lady Falcons came out hot going up 20-10 at the end of the first quarter and opening that lead up 32-17 by halftime. Bushland was on fire from the perimeter knocking down 11, 3-pointers from the field in the win. Chloe Cochran had a game-high 16 points, as teammate Brooklyn Boyett had 15 on five, 3-point field goals.
Bushland (28-8) advances to the regional quarterfinals for a rematch from last year with Idalou (24-12). That game is set for 7:30 p.m. Monday at Randall High School.
Crane 10 17 20 30
Bushland 20 32 50 55
C- Willis 11, Pittman 9. B- Chloe Cochran 16, Brooklyn Boyett 15. Records: Crane 20-16; Bushland 28-8.
Class 2A
Gruver handles Floydada
The Gruver Lady Hounds pushed their playoff win streak to nine straight games by dismantling Floydada 60-40 in the Class 2A area round on Friday night at the Tascosa Activity Center.
The Lady Hounds, the defending Class 2A state champions, had balanced scoring placing three in double figures led by Hannon Lankford’s game-high 20 points. Teammate Kimber Whitehead poured in 14 points and Brenna Butler chipped in 10. Floydada (19-12) hung tough in the first quarter trailing 19-13, however, Gruver’s shooting amped up in the second frame as the Lady Hounds went to halftime with a commanding 35-23 advantage. It was more of the same in the second half for the Lady Hounds as they outscored the Lady Whirlwinds 18-9 in the fourth.
The No. 9-ranked Lady Hounds (26-5) advance to the regional quarterfinals to square off with Farwell (29-6) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Amarillo High Activity Center.
Gruver 19 35 42 60
Floydada 13 25 31 40
G- Hannon Lankford 20, Kimber Whitehead 14, Brenna Butler 10. F- Santos 16, Ramirez 12. Records: Gruver 26-5; Floydada 19-12.
Stratford stings Sudan in OT
Dezeray Tims made the biggest free-throw of her life with only two seconds left in overtime that propelled the Stratford to a thrilling 49-48 win over District 4-2A champion Sudan in the Class 2A area round in Vega.
Tims was fouled driving to the basket with two seconds left and the game tied, 48-48. After missing the first free-throw, Tims settled in and made the pressure packed second shot that sent Stratford to the huge victory. This game was close througout with not one team leading by double digits. The Lady Elks trailed 30-26 after three but were able to rally to force overtime tied at 44. Addie Wells led Stratford with 13 points. Teammate Addison Bell added 12.
Stratford moves on to play Panhandle (27-7) in the regional quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Caprock Activity Center.
Stratford 11 22 26 44 49
Sudan 12 26 30 44 48
Str- Addie Wells 13, Addison Bell 12. Sud- Lockhart 22. Records: Stratford 23-10; Sudan 25-9.
Class 1A
McLean edges Happy
In a low scoring nip and tuck battle, McLean’s Kasidy Russell propelled the Lady Tigers to a Class 1A area round title with five clutch points in the final quarter to beat Happy 33-30 Friday night at West Plains High School.
The victory moves McLean (25-7) into the regional quarterfinal round against Claude (21-10) at a time and place to be determined. For Happy, this loss represented its 10th loss in the last twelve years at this round of the playoffs as the Cowgirls (19-13) were unable to take advantage of a lead after three quarters.
Happy led 26-24 to begin the fourth but Hailo Moon tied the game up at 26 with a basket in the paint. That’s when Russell put the Lady Tigers on top to stay with a deep 3-pointer from the left wing with six minutes left. A few minutes later Happy’s Brittney Gibson hit two of her game-high 16 to pull Happy back to within one. McLean then held the ball for over two minutes before finding Moon in the paint again for a turnaround layup and foul to go up 31-28. After missing the free-throw, Happy pulled back within a point on a wide-open layup from Breelee Dempsey. Russell, the talented sophomore, made her mark again as she was fouled with 13 seconds left and calmly sank two free throws for a three-point lead. Happy’s last attempt at the buzzer from Halee Johnson missed the mark as McLean held on for the win.
Russell led the way for McLean with 15 points and Moon added 10. For Happy, Dempsey contributed eight points in the loss.
McLean 4 11 24 33
Happy 11 11 26 30
M- Kassidy Russell 15, Hailo Moon 10. H- Gibson 16, Dempsey 8. Records: McLean 25-7; Happy 19-13.
Nazareth dominates Silverton
The No. 7-ranked Nazareth Swiftettes came out laser focused on both ends of the floor and for that effort walked out of the Amarillo High Activity Center with a commanding 59-26 win over Silverton in the Class 1A area round on Friday.
The Silverton offense simply couldn’t get any momentum against a swarming Swiftettes defense as Nazareth built a 22-1 lead midway into the second quarter. In fact, the Lady Owls first field goal of the game didn’t come until the 3:43 mark of the second quarter. On the offensive end, Nazareth was just as on knocking down shots led by Presley Wheeler who had three first half 3-pointers, finishing with 11 points on the night. Junior guard Harley Gerber poured in a game-high 13 and Brooklyn Birkenfeld also had 11.
Nazareth (26-9) advances to the regional quarterfinals for a matchup with Valley (24-9) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Hutcherson Center on the campus of Wayland Baptist University in Plainview.
Nazareth 11 29 46 59
Silverton 1 8 14 26
N- Harley Gerber 13, Presley Wheeler 11, Brooklyn Birkenfeld 11. S- Kilee Lynn 8. Records: Nazareth 26-9; Silverton 18-11.
Valley upends Wildorado
Valley used a big second half to knock off Wildorado 51-37 in the Class 1A area round on Friday night in Dimmitt.
Leading only 23-21 at the break, the Lady Patriots caught fire by outscoring the Lady Mustangs 17-7 in the third quarter to go up 40-28 and finish the game with the 14-point win. The duo of Trinity Schlueter and Anna Ferrel, who totaled 36 points during Monday’s win over Follett, were at it again during this victory over Wildorado. The dynamic duo combined for 34 points as Schlueter tallied a game-high 18, followed by Ferrel’s 16.
Valley (24-9) will battle No. 7-ranked Nazareth (26-9) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Hutcherson Center on the campus of Wayland Baptist University in Plainview.
Wildorado 13 21 28 37
Valley 18 23 40 51
W- Barret 12, Perkins 9. V- Schlueter 18, Ferrel 16. Records: Wildorado 18-16; Valley 24-9.