Panhandle’s Kinley Graham (10) pulls down a rebound against Haskell during a Region I-2A semifinal Friday night at the Texan Dome in Levelland. [Jordan Hofeditz/ For Press Pass Sports]
It will be an all Texas Panhandle final once again at the Region I-2A Tournament at the Texan Dome in Levelland on Saturday.
Panhandle and Gruver made that happen thanks to convincing wins in the regional semifinals Friday night.
The Ettes dominated Haskell with a lightning fast start on their way to a 47-24 lopsided victory, followed by the Lady Hounds who held Stamford at arms length during a 56-45 win.
It’s now a battle between two of the state’s top-ranked teams when No. 8 Panhandle (31-5) faces No. 3 Gruver (35-2) with a trip to San Antonio on the line at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon in Levelland.
The two teams actually played early in the year with the Ettes earning a 63-56 overtime win against the Lady Hounds in the championship game of the Nazareth Tournament in December.
Panhandle handled the Maidens (31-4) from start to finish, opening a 16-3 advantage after the first quarter. The Ettes continued to control the game, extending the lead to an eye-opening 33-7 by halftime. Senior Kinley Graham was superb by scoring a game-high 11 points, while teammate Bailey Walterscheid added 10.
Gruver’s Bailey Maupin has a had an incredible week. After torching Wellington for 23 points during a 49-40 victory in a regional quarter Tuesday, Maupin followed that effort with a 24 point outing against the Lady Bulldogs on Friday. Maupin finished the game with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds and was 9-of-19 shooting from the floor.
Gruver trailed early in the first, however took control by the second quarter, growing the advantage by as many as 13 in the third. Freshman Breanna Butler chipped in with 16 points.
Haskell 3 7 13 24
Panhandle 16 33 41 47
H— Delaney Hanson 10, Melody Martinez 4. P— Kinley Graham 11, Bailey Walterscheid 10. Records: Haskell 31-4; Panhandle 31-5.
Stamford 10 20 31 45
Gruver 15 27 39 56
S— Laylonna Applin 14, Audrey Brewer 12. G— Bailey Maupin 24, Breanna Butler 16. Records: Stamford 25-8; Gruver 35-2.
Region I-5A Tournament
AHS rolls to regional finals: Amarillo High jumped out to a 20-point first quarter lead and never looked back for a 52-34 rout of Lake Dallas in a Region I-5A Tournament semifinal at the Scurry County Coliseum in Snyder on Friday afternoon.
The No. 1-ranked Lady Sandies (36-2 overall), the two-time defending Class 5A champions, will advance to their third straight regional final when they square off with Mansfield Timberview (30-8) at 2 p.m. Saturday. AHS defeated Mansfield Timberview last season to advance to San Antonio.
The Lady Wolves held off Wichita Falls Rider, 53-49, Friday.
AHS exploded in the opening eight minutes never allowing Lake Dallas (27-9) to get into the game. The Lady Sandies fast start, gave them a commanding 24-4 lead, led by senior standout Zayla Tinner. Tinner couldn’t be stopped, scoring a game-high 24 points. Rachel Haase followed Tinner with 10 points.
Lake Dallas 4 14 23 34
Amarillo High 24 33 44 52
LD— Gloria Norris 9, Bailey Broughton 8. AHS— Zayla Tinner 24, Rachel Haase 11.
Region I-4A Tournament
Canyon falls late: For a second straight year the Canyon Lady Eagles had their season end in the Region I-4A semifinals at the hands of Argyle.
No. 5 Argyle made clutch free-throws down the stretch, including an incredible performance from Rhyle McKinney to earn a 41-38 victory against No. 1 Canyon at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock on Friday.
Canyon had a seven-point lead, only to see Argyle chip away to tie the game at 32 all by the start of the fourth. McKinney was the difference maker, scoring 33 of her teams 41 points, with 23 of those coming in the second half. Down the stretch, McKinney was especially clutch, going 10-of-12 from the free-throw line in the final frame.
Canyon had a final chance to send the contest to overtime. After a McKinney free-throw gave Argyle a 41-38 lead with 12 seconds left, Canyon pushed the ball up the floor and gave Kenadee Winfrey a 3-point look from the right wing. Winfrey’s shot hit off the back of the iron. Canyon pulled down the board and kicked it out to Chloe Callahan who got off one more 3-point attempt but her shot hit hard off the backboard and the rim as time expired.
Canyon did hurt themselves in the fourth quarter going 4-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Canyon ends a great season at 31-2, while Argyle is now 32-6. Argyle will face Bridgeport (24-5) in Saturday’s regional final at 2 p.m.
Argyle 8 14 32 41
Canyon 9 18 32 38
A— Rhyle McKinney 33, Bailey Tiommons 5.
C— Taylor Thomas 9, Neely Wood 9.
Records: Argyle 32-6; Canyon 31-2.
Bridgeport downs Hereford: The Hereford Lady Whitefaces fell behind in the second quarter and never could recover, falling to Brideport 43-37 in a Region I-4A Tournament semifinal Friday night at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock.
Tied, 12-12, after the first quarter, Bridgeport was able to take over by outscoring the Lady Whitefaces 11-3 in the second.
Bridgeport (24-5) pushed the lead to as many as 10 in the second half. Hereford rallied late in the fourth, but couldn’t complete the comeback.
Hereford, which made its first regional tournament in school history, finishes the year at 24-10. Lillie Skiles led the Lady Whitefaces with nine points.
Hereford 12 15 23 37
Bridgeport 12 23 33 43
H— Lillie Skiles-9 Miranda Acosta 8. B— Vidal 20 Ingram 12. Records: Hereford 24-10; Bridgeport 24-5.
Region I-1A Tournament
Naz sneaks past Ropes: For a third straight year the Nazareth Swiftettes have sent the Ropes Lady Eagles home from the Class 1A playoffs.
Nazareth made that happen by holding for a 46-44 win during a Region I-1A Tournament semifinal game at the Texan Dome in Levelland on Friday afternoon.
The No. 1-ranked Swiftettes improve to 28-8 overall, and advance to their seventh straight regional final where they’ll face New Home (30-4) at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Lady Leopards used a buzzer beater to squeak past Claude in the other seminal Friday.
Ropes and Nazareth went back and forth. The game was tied, 19-19, at half, with Nazareth holding a slight 34-33 lead after three quarters.
Down the stretch, Swiftette senior Cambrie Heiman made clutch buckets as part of her game-high 21 points, and Nazareth was able to hold on for the victory.
Amy Schilderink chipped in 10 behind Heiman’s effort.
Nazareth 13 19 34 46
Ropes 10 19 33 44
N— Cambrie Heiman 21, Amy Schilderink 10. R— M. Moore 15, Anderson 15. Records: Nazareth 28-8; Ropes 28-3.
Claude drops a heartbreaker: New Home knocked down a shot as time expired to stun the Claude Lady Stangs, 48-46, during a Region I-1A Tournament semifinal on Friday afternoon at the Texan Dome in Levelland.
The thrilling contest came down to the games closing seconds. Tied, 46-46, and under 20 seconds New Home got three looks at the final shot thanks to offense rebounds. After two misses by McKenzie Johnston, Abi Cathey got an open look from the elbow to hit the game-winner as time expired sending the Lady Leopards to their first ever regional final.
New Home (30-4) advances to play No. 1-ranked Nazareth (28-8) at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Claude, the District 2-1A champions, see a fantastic season end at 29-7.
New Home led for most of the contest, however, Claude chipped away at a six-point third quarter deficit to take a four-point lead with 3:05 to play but were unable to hang on.
Maddox Scoggins led the Lady Stangs with 10 points, followed by Andi Holland with eight. New Home’s Johnston poured in a game-high 17.
New Home 7 22 34 48
Claude 8 17 28 46
NH— McKenzie Johnston 17, Kelby Baccus 13. C— Maddox Scoggins 10, Andi Holland 8. Records: New Home 30-4; Claude 29-6.
Saturday’s Region I finals schedule
Region I-6 Tournament
at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, Fort Worth
Friday’s semifinals
Duncanville 66, Arlington Martin 49
Cedar Hill 53, Frenship 49
Saturday’s regional championship
Duncanville (37-3) vs. Cedar Hill (31-9) 2 p.m.
Region I-5A Tournament
at Scurry County Coliseum, Snyder
Friday’s semifinals
Amarillo High 52, Lake Dallas 34
Mansfield Timberview 53, WF Rider 49
Saturday’s regional championship
Amarillo High (36-2) vs. Mansfield Timberview (30-8), 2 p.m.
Region I-4A Tournament
at Rip Griffin Center, Lubbock Christian University
Friday’s semifinals
Argyle 41, Canyon 38
Bridgeport 43, Hereford 37
Saturday’s regional championship
Argyle (32-6) vs. Bridgeport (24-5) 2 p.m.
Region I-3A Tournament
at Hutcherson Center, Wayland Baptist University, Plainview
Friday’s semifinals
Idalou 44, Brock 28
Shallowater 47, Jim Ned 40
Saturday’s regional championship
Idalou (32-7) vs. Shallowater (36-2), 7 p.m.
Region I-2A Tournament
at Texan Dome, South Plains College, Levelland
Friday’s semifinals
Panhandle 47, Haskell 24
Gruver 56, Stamford 45
Saturday’s regional championship
Panhandle (31-5) vs. Gruver (35-2), 3:30 p.m.
Region I-1A Tournament
at Texan Dome, South Plains College, Levelland
Friday’s semifinals
New Home 48, Claude 46
Nazareth 46, Ropes 44
Saturday’s regional championship
New Home (30-4) vs. Nazareth (28-8), 2 p.m.