Lady Broncos win Wildcat Classic

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos connected as a team and raced through ranked teams over the holidays in the Wildcat Classic basketball tournament held in Littlefield December 27-29.

The ladies began the tournament with a huge win over Pecos at 69-24. They stormed through each quarter of play and controlled every part of the game on both parts of the court from the beginning. The Lady Eagles were helpless in trying to stop the Lady Broncos who hit four three pointers and was led by Kashlyn Conkin with 12 points that included two three-pointers. Right behind Conkin was Kimbrasia Ballard who finished with 10 and Berkley Moore with nine. Presley Smith and Graci Smith had eight points each and Kate Shaw had five.

In the second round, the Lady Broncos took on the fourth ranked Class 4A Lady Loboettes of Levelland and played great ball to defeat them in overtime at 49-40. Kenidee Hayes put in eight of her 10 points in the overtime period going six for six from the bonus line.
The ladies held a two-point lead in the opening quarter but allowed Levelland to get back in the game and overtake the lead by five points at the break.

They were able to make up all but one point of the deficit in the third and nailed a two-pointer to tie the score after regulation. They were able to go to work and turn up the heat defensively in the three extra minutes to get the win.

The win over the 4th ranked team was big and will give the momentum they need going into District play. P. Smith put in 12 points and Hayes added 10. Moore hit two threes for six and Courtlyn Conkin and Tandie Cummins helped with five each.

The Lady Broncos did not let the win hinder their play in the final game against the host team and defeated them 39-32 to win the championship. Solid play allowed the ladies a two-point cushion at the break over the Lady Cats. However, a small comeback attempt in the second half by Littlefield spurred on the Lady Broncos in the final period of play. They stayed determined to get the win. K. Conkin led the way with 10, and P. Smith and Hayes added five each in the low-scoring game.

On December 15, the Lady Broncos went up against Nazareth and squeezed by for the win at 37-30. After holding a three-point advantage at the break, the ladies found a rhythm offensively and were able to put a little distance between themselves and the Lady Swifts. They were able to hold onto that spread for the remainder of the game to get the win. C. Conkin led with eight points and Hayden Elam and G. Smith added five each. P. Smith, T. Cummins, and Shaw finished with four apiece and K. Conkin added one three-pointer. Moore, and K. Cummins put in two points each.

The Lady Bronco JV took on Nazareth as well and were narrowly defeated at 28-32. The game was fairly even throughout with Nazareth holding the slight advantage after a matching score of eight points after the first seven minutes of play. Kimbrasia Ballard put in 11 points to lead the way and Cambree Smith added seven. Jayla Woodard had four, and Madi Benson, Gracie Ellis, and Kinslee Hatley helped with two points each.

Both Lady Bronco teams will open district play at home on January 5 playing at 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. They will travel to Quanah on January 9.