Canadian’s Mattie Boyd hugs teammate Brooklyn Cochran after the No. 1-ranked Lady Cats downed Shallowater 51-45 in a Class 3A Regional Quarterfinal clash on Tuesday at the Caprock Activity Center. [Ben Jenkins/ Press Pass Sports]
Canadian gained a measure of revenge from a year ago while making a major statement in the process knocking off Shallowater 51-45 during a Class 3A Regional Quarterfinal showdown of state-ranked teams in front of an electric atmosphere at the Caprock Activity Center on Tuesday night.
The No. 1-ranked Lady Cats defended that top ranking thanks to clutch shot after clutch shot anytime the No. 7-ranked Fillies made a run. Canadian (34-1) also avenges a 55-47 loss from this same game last season where Shallowater (28-3) ended the Lady Cats year on the very same Caprock court.
“I’ve been looking forward to this game, in this gym for 365 days,” Canadian senior Mattie Boyd said. “I’ve been wanting this win, in this jersey, with my teammates for the longest time. It feels amazing.”
Boyd was the best player on the floor and it wasn’t even close. The West Texas A&M signee outplayed her future Lady Buff teammate Bree Brattain of Shallowater, and gave the Fillies fits inside and out. Boyd had 12 points by halftime, as Canadian took a 23-16 lead into the break.
In the fourth quarter, the post hit two devasting 3-point shots that sank Shallowater. The first one came early in the quarter when Boyd hit a 3-ball from the top of the key putting the Lady Cats up 38-30. Boyd then nailed home the dagger with 3:10 left on a left wing 3-pointer that gave Canadian its first double-digit lead, 48-38, with 3:10 left.
“I like to shoot from outside,” Boyd said. “My role is down low, and it was in this game, but they played off me and I was able to knock down those shots.”
Canadian head coach Aaron Marks echoed Boyd’s comments.
“All year teams have packed the paint on us,” Marks said. “Mattie knows playing at that next level she’s going to have to stretch the floor. She showed what she could do. She’s a special player, and I’m so proud of her.”
Boyd finished with a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Boyd wasn’t the only Canadian player to step up. Anytime Shallowater made a run, the Lady Cats swung the momentum back with timely buckets. Midway through the second quarter, Shallowater had cut the lead, 18-12, only for Canadian’s Briley Merket to hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key that pushed the advantage 21-12. Once again, the Fillies went on a 6-0 run in the third quarter taking a Canadian 32-22 lead quickly down to 32-28. This time it was Samantha Krehbiel’s turn to hit the big shot from downtown, turning it back to a 7-point advantage.
“Our schedule did us so many favors,” Marks said. “We’ve played as tough of a schedule as anyone in Class 3A. There hasn’t been a situation we haven’t seen. Shallowater is a tremendous team, and a team that is difficult to beat. We have four seniors, and they all handled the adversity well.”
The Lady Cats defense was exceptional. Unlike last year’s game where Brattain torched Canadian for 19 second half points, Canadian was relentless on the star senior, who played her final game in a Shallowater uniform. The Lady Cats double teamed Brattain, and face guarded the sharp-shooter continually, fouling Brattain out with only eight points and two two field goals.
“Bree hurt us in the second half last year,” Marks said. “We rotated a lot of bodies at her, and we have a bunch of competitors that stepped up to the challenge. If you’d told me we were going to hold her to two field goals I’d gladly accepted that.”
Canadian moves on to the Region I-3A Tournament for the first time since 2017. The Lady Cats road doesn’t get any easier facing No. 5-ranked Jim Ned (33-1) in the semifinals at 8 p.m. at Frenship.
Canadian 10 23 35 51
Shallowater 4 16 28 45
C— Mattie Boyd 26, Tinley Pennington 9. S— Avery Velasquez 16, Jenna Willer 15. Records: Canadian 34-1; Shallowater 28-3