21-3A girls hoopsters are top-notch

[KFDM COOP]

21-3A girls hoopsters are top-notch

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

Everyone knew that the District 21-3A girls playoff race would be a “doozyâ€.

The front-runners that include district champion Silsbee, Orangefield and West Orange-Stark made it through to the playoffs but it certainly wasn’t easy.

Just how good was District 21-3A?

How about all three of those teams being in the final eight in the region with the regional quarterfinals coming up.

WO-S and Silsbee will hook up for the fourth time this season probably Wednesday of this week to see who will punch their ticket to the 3A Region III Tournament in Huntsville.

Last season, it was the Lady Mustangs that sent Silsbee home in the same round. In 2005, it was the Lady Tigers that sent WO-S home packing.

The Lady Mustangs (22-8) will surely enter the game with a chip on their shoulder as third-place WO-S fell to Silsbee in the previous three meetings this season, all of them tight. Silsbee dumped Wharton 69-51 Friday.

Orangefield (27-7) made quick work of the West Columbia Lady Roughnecks in the area round West Columbia checked in with a 30-0 mark and left Mont Belvieu with a 30-1 record after being spanked by the Lady Bobcats.

Orangefield, with such strong senior leadership, built an 18-8 lead in the first quarter, increased it to 38-14 at the half and cruised to a 62-37 victory.

Kids like Kristy Sanders, Jessica Shores, Paige Roy and KK Little, they know what being in a big game is all about.

Next up for the Lady Bobcats, a date with the Cleveland Lady Indians Wednesday. Wouldn’t it be sweet for Orangefield to qualify for the regional tournament by beating a team it fell hard to a couple years ago in the Montagne Center? Cleveland easily dispatched Smithville 68-31 in the area round.

The Lady Mustangs played a different style to stun fifth-ranked Navasota (34-3) in Humble Friday. The Lady Mustangs slowed the pace down and eventually were able to pick apart a young Lady Rattler team.

Senior Brittney Scott directed traffic and put up her usual 25 points but the surrounding troops of seniors in Janae Hendreson, Dominique Riggs and Rebecca McMillon played so well as far as crashing the boards and playing hard-nosed defense. The most impressive thing about the win — WO-S committed just six turnovers. Not bad for an intensity-filled playoff tilt.

You have to wonder what the other 21-3A teams in Kirbyville, Hardin-Jefferson, Hamshire-Fannett and Bridge City are thinking.

Kirbyville could easily be the best 3A team in the state that didn’t qualify for the playoffs. H-J coach Carol Sims was on hand to watch Orangefield’s whipping of West Columbia. The H-F coaching staff was in Humble to give WO-S support. That’s what I call rootin’ for your “homies.â€

Coach Jackie Scales at Bridge City has to be wondering what life would’ve been like in District 22-3A or even 22-4A.

The Lady Cardinals placed seventh in a rugged 21-3A.

WO-S defeated 22-3A second-place team Liberty 57-22 and Orangefield dropped the third-place unit Coldspring 80-48 in bidistrict.

I honestly believe that if Scales’ crew competed in 22-3A, the Lady Cardinals could’ve easily been the second-place team or at least the third. Let’s not forget how BC fared against 22-4A foes in non-district as they racked up wins over Little Cypress-Mauriceville, Port Neches-Groves, Nederland and Vidor. BC could’ve easily slipped into that third-place spot in 22-4A. Instead, the Lady Cards finished 2-12 in 21-3A.

To put it frankly, there probably wasn’t a better 3A district in the state.

The thorns in Orangefield and WO-S’ sides from last year have already been eliminated from the scene. China Spring, which nipped Orangefield in the Regional Tournament last year and which went on to win the 3A state title, fell to Crockett 54-53 in the area round. Lorena, which dropped WO-S in the Regional Tournament, fell to Diboll 58-41. Madisonville, who defeated Liberty Hill 54-43, and Fairfield, which nipped Robinson 53-48, are the other two regional contenders.

It’s hard to grab that crystal ball but it sure would be nice to have two teams from our district return back to the Regional Tournament. We’re guaranteed of at least one but with the way this year has been going, two could be making that trip to Sam Houston State in Huntsville.

Everyone is certainly rootin’ for it.