Lady Broncos suffer heartbreaking loss

By Sandy Anderberg

After a great season, the Lady Broncos were denied the right to continue on in post-season play by the Plains Cowgirls in Levelland last Friday night and were defeated 53-67.

The Lady Broncos played hard despite the loss and were solid in the first half of play. Plains hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the second period that gave them a three-point advantage into the break.

The third quarter went cold for the Lady Broncos on the offensive end of the court, and the Lady Cowgirls were able to take control of the game on the scoreboard. The Lady Broncos struggled to recover down the stretch and had to foul late in the game giving Plains the edge on the free throw line.

Deborah Howard led the ladies with 12 points, and Jentry Shadle finished with 10.

“Our girls fought hard and competed hard,” coach Molly Weatherred. “But things just didn’t fall our way. It was a great season, and I am proud of the girls for their effort.”

Scoring: D. Howard 12, Shadle 10, Ryann Starnes 8, McKayla Cartwright 7, Audrey Shelton 4, Jency Burton 3, and Taylor Gaines 3.

The ladies earned the right to an appearance in the Regional Tournament by defeating Claude at Frank Phillips College earlier in the week in overtime at 44-43.

With the score tied at 43 all, Jentry Shadle drove the lane with only ticks left on the clock and was fouled sending her to the bonus line. She was able to convert the first of a two-shot bonus to give the ladies the one-point lead.Time was on the Lady Broncos’ side as after the miss on the second free throw, the Lady Mustangs did not have enough time to advance the ball down the court and the Lady Broncos took the win.

Clarendon was down by nine points at the break and it looked like Claude was going to get the win, but the Lady Broncos hustled back to tie the game after regulation at 37-37 and sending the game into overtime.

Coach Molly Weatherred commented as to the ladies’ character in their comeback win.

“Our girls showed a lot of character in the win,” Weatherred said. “They stayed solid and deserved the win.”

Shadle and Cartwright led the ladies with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Gaines added seven and Starnes put in six. D. Howard had five and sister Lydia helped with three points.

Jentry Shadle, Jency Burton, Anna Ceniceros, McKayla Cartwright, Lydia Howard, and Audrey Shelton are the graduating seniors and will be greatly missed next year.