Morgan Wheatly

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos participated in the Canadian Basketball Tournament over the holidays and took on three very strong teams according to head coach Molly Weatherred. The ladies came home with one win and two losses.

They took on Dumas in the first round and despite playing a tough game, narrowly lost 39-46. After a close first quarter of play, the Demonettes pulled away from the Lady Broncos in the second quarter. The Lady Broncos were able to close the gap somewhat in the final period of play, but ran out of time. Taylor DeGrate was on fire and finished with 16 points to lead the Lady Broncos.

Also scoring: Taylor Gaines 7, Phara Berry 6, Deborah Howard 4, Camra Smith 3, and Ryann Starnes 3.

The Lady Broncos took on a strong Dalhart team in the second round and were defeated 66-77. Clarendon trailed early and was down as much as 17 at the break. They worked their way back into the game in the final quarter, but could never make up the deficit. Four Lady Broncos finished in double figures in the high-scoring game with Gaines leading the pack with 23. DeGrate helped with 16, Berry had 11, and Starnes added 10. Haley Ferguson and Brittney Braim each added two and Howard and Skyler White helped with one each.

The Lady Broncos went up against Wheeler in the final game of the tournament and won big at 60-43. Clarendon took a commanding lead early on and controlled the tempo and momentum of the game until the final buzzer.

Weatherred noted the ladies will benefit from the games against strong teams down the road. “It was nice to get back in the gym,” Weatherred said. “We were able to play some tough, competitive games. We played some teams that were bigger and stronger than us and it is just what we need to prepare us for district.”

The trio of Gaines, Starnes, and DeGrate led their team to the win with 18, 14, and 12 points. Howard put in five and Braim had four. Berry finished with three points and Ferguson and Smith each helped with two.

The Lady Broncos will play San Jacinto at home on Friday, January 3, at 6:30 p.m.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos lost an opportunity to take out Valley at home Tuesday night when they forfeited the lead with just a little time left on the clock. The Lady Patriots took control and earned the 53-45 win over the Lady Broncos.

A cold shooting first half hindered Clarendon, while Valley turned every shot into gold. Despite that fact, the Lady Broncos only trailed by two points at the break and turned things around in the third quarter of play to take the lead by four.

But Valley regrouped to retake the lead for good over the Lady Broncos in their final possessions of the game. Foul trouble put the Lady Broncos in trouble, which allowed Valley to hit the charity stripe several times.

Scoring: Ryann Starnes 14, Taylor Gaines 11, Taylor Degrate 8, Phara Berry 8, Deborah Howard 2, and Camra Smith 2.

The Lady Broncos will participate in the Canadian Tournament December 27 and go to Memphis December 31.

By Sandy Anderberg

The Broncos competed in the Canadian Basketball Tournament over the holidays and finished with one win and two losses.

The Broncos’ win came against Wheeler in the second round of the tourney winning 58-47. JoJo Cartwright led the Broncos with 17 points in the win.

Clarendon trailed by nine points after the first quarter of play, but they made their way back before the break posting a three-point lead over the Mustangs. The Broncos extended their lead and sealed their win in the fourth quarter when they took over offensively and opened up the scoring. Cedrick McCampbell and Ashton Smith joined Cartwright with double figures scoring ten points each.

Also scoring: Chance McAnear 7, Charles Mason 5, Taylon Knorpp 4, Chance Lockhart 3, and Bryce Hatley 2.

The Broncos opened the tournament against a good Stratford team and were defeated 58-80. The Elks took control of the game on both ends of the court, which left the Broncos struggling to get anything going. Cartwright, once again, led the Broncos on the board with 19 and Mason helped with 14. Also scoring: Hatley 6, Smith 5, McCampbell 4, Knorpp 4, Jr. Ceniceros 3, McAnear 3, and Lockhart 3.

In round three, the Broncos were stopped by Dalhart 40-80. They seemed to struggle throughout and could never find a rhythm against their opponent. Mason pumped in 10 points to lead the Broncos on the score board. Also scoring: McCampbell 8, Hatley 6, Chesson Sims 4, Ceniceros 4, and McAnear 1.

The Broncos will play Ascension Academy at home Thursday, January 2, at 7:30 p.m. and travel to Childress January 3.