Sports

Hedley’s Rebekah Howard has achieved many things in her career as a basketball player.

She garnered all-state awards and played in a high school state title game and then went on to become a starter and major contributor for College of the Ozarks in Branson, Missiouri, an NAIA Division II school.

Recently the 2004 Hedley High School graduate became the 17th Lady Bobcat to score more than 1,000 points for her career. She was the team’s third leading scorer and leading rebounder and was their premiere post defender, according to Hall of Fame coach George Wilson.

The C of O Lady Bobcats were ranked first in NAIA Division II all year, entering the national tournament with only one loss and that to an NCAA Division II school much larger than theirs.

The national tournament is held annually in Sioux City, Iowa, and the top-ranked Ozarks squad made short work of their first three opponents, winning by an average margin of more than 25 points per game. Teams from Oregon to Maine and California to Michigan competed, but the national semifinals were dominated by Midwest teams from Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri.

The Ozarks played Hastings, Neb., in their national semifinal, and it took two gut-wrenching overtimes to decide the game in favor of the Lady Bobcats. Howard scored 15 points in that contest and pulled down 10 rebounds.

In the national title game, the Ozarks third title game in a row, pitted the Lady Bobcats against the third-ranked Lady Raiders of Iowa’s Northwestern College and their national player Debbie Remmerde.

Howard and the Lady Bobcats had knocked Northwestern out of the tournament last year and led the championship game this year for nearly 35 minutes, but Remmerde, who ended her career as the all-time leading scorer in NAIA Division II, brought her team back to tie the game with 5:26 left.

Remmerde scored 41 points in the game, was 16 for 16 from the free-throw line, and was unstoppable in the final minutes of the title game. The Ozarks had to again settle for a second place finish nationally.

Though disappointed to be denied a national championship, Howard can look back on some wonderful accomplishments and tremendous success in her cage career. While in college, her teams went 135-12, an astounding 0.918 winning percentage.

The last two years have been even better with teams going 68-4 with two of the four losses in national championship games.

Howard will graduate next December with a degree in English from College of the Ozarks.

The Clarendon Broncos varsity basketball team swept two opponents last week to clinch the Bi-District and Area Championship titles.

The Broncos crushed Memphis last Tuesday to claim the Bi-District crown by scoring a whopping 93 points to only 37 for the Cyclones.

Before the week was out, the Broncos claimed one more title when they stunned Boys Ranch for the Area Championship at 78-49.

Five Broncos scored in double figures in the Memphis game, which was played at Clarendon College, and all contributed to the huge win.  Clarendon began the game on fire and went 19-7 for the first eight minutes.  They romped in the next period to extend their lead and seal the win.

Scoring:  Johnny Gaines 22, T.J. Brown 21, Alton Gaines 12, Dalton Askew 12, Derrick Shelton 12, Aaron Gordon 5, Tré Brown 5, Stephino McCampbell 2, and Mike Crump 2.

The win over Memphis allowed the Broncos to play for the Area Championship against Boys Ranch at Amarillo High last Friday night.

Once again the Broncos proved they were worthy of continued post-season play as they dominated a good Rough Rider team.  The Broncos managed a 14-point lead after the first quarter and never looked back as they played great basketball in front of a super fan base.  The Broncos hit five three-pointers in the game and went 11 for 16 from the free throw line.

“We played a really good offensive game,” Coach Colby Waldrop said.  “I would like to see us pick it up defensively, but I am so proud of their energy.  It was a great game, and the crowd was fantastic.  Our offense needs to stay the same for the next games.”

Scoring:  Johnny Gaines 22, T.J. Brown 20, Alton Gaines 14, Tré Brown 7, Dalton Askew 8, and Derrick Shelton 6.

The Broncos ended their season Tuesday night before a large crowd in Childress, falling in the Regional Quarterfinals to Wellington.

Complete details of the final game of the season will be printed in next week’s edition of the Enterprise.

Twenty-seven boys and girls teams participated in the 2007 Greenbelt Holiday Classic Tournament held at the Clarendon Gymnasium December 27-29, and the Broncos outlasted 13 of them to claim the Championship over Highland Park.

The 56-54 defeat of the Hornets came after wins over Bible Heritage, Groom, and Stratford.  The Broncos defeated Bible Heritage 107-16 in the first round and bested the Groom Tigers 92-33 after their first win.

Six players finished in double figures in the Bible Heritage game.  Alton Gaines led with 19, and Johnny Gaines had 18.  Aaron Gordon and Dalton Askew put in 13 each, and Derrick Shelton and Tré Brown added 11 and 10 respectively.  Nathan Gribble had 9, and T.J. Brown finished with 8 while Jadon Thornton had 6.

The game against Groom had similar results as the Broncos won 92-33.  Four finished in double figures and all players contributed to the win.

Scoring:  Askew 23, J. Gaines 17, A. Gaines 15, T.J. Brown 10, Thornton 8, Shelton 7, Gribble 4, Gordon 4, and Tré Brown 4.

The Broncos faced a good Stratford team in the third round and earned a 56-37 win.  Clarendon began the game with an offensive edge over the Elks in the first quarter.  They continued to play aggressive offense and pumped in 24 points after thr break to secure the win.

Scoring:  T.J. Brown 22, J. Gaines 9, Askew 8, A. Gaines 4, Thornton 4, Gribble 3, Tré Brown 2, Shelton 1, and Stephino McCampbell 1.

The win over Stratford put the Broncos in the Championship game against Highland Park Saturday afternoon.  It went down to the wire, but the Broncos played to a 56-54 win.

HP jumped out to a seven-point lead, and the Broncos found themselves struggling offensively in the first quarter of play.  But things went their way in the second period as they worked hard to get even with the Hornets.  A three-point shot at the halftime buzzer put both teams at 28 at the break.  Both teams came out fighting after the break and were determined to get the win.  But things went the Broncos’ way as they stayed focused until the end.

“It was good getting back into the flow,” Coach Colby Waldrop said.  “The kids did a good job, and they were really excited.  We got two big wins over two 2A schools.  We’ll keep working hard to prepare for District play.”

Scoring:  T.J. Brown 21, Shelton 18, A. Gaines 10, J. Gaines 2.

“Overall the tournament was a big success,” Waldrop said. “We heard a lot of good comments from several schools, and they want to come back next year.”

The three-day tournament was held at both Bronco Gyms and the Bulldog Gym at Clarendon College.

T.J. Brown was named All-Tournament Most Valuable Player, and Alton Gaines, Derrick Shelton, and Dalton Askew were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Macy Shadle was the lone Lady Bronco named to the All-Tournament Team on the ladies’ side.

The Lady Broncos played Bible Heritage in the first round and handily defeated them 88-33.  The ladies totally dominated their opponent on both ends of the court, and five players finished in double figures.  Abbie Massingill had 18, Macy Shadle scored 14, Jenci White had 12, Abby Patten finished with 11, and Erin Holland had 10.  Sade Cobb had 8, Janae White had 6, Jill Cornell and Cortnee Thornberry each had 4.

The ladies faced Lockney, who were named the eventual tournament champions, in the second round and were defeated 45-60.  It was slow going for the Lady Broncos as they struggled against the Lady Horns in the second half.

Scoring: Shadle 21, Cobb 8, Massingill 6, Holland 4, Thornberry 4, and Janae White 2.

The ladies took on Hedley in the third round; and despite leading in the first half, they lost to the Lady Owls in overtime 39-44.

Clarendon led 22-13 at the end of the first half, but allowed their opponent to get back into the game and play to a tie at the end of regulation.

“We played hard in the tournament,” Coach Randy Yelverton said.  “We played well for a half in each of the Lockney and Hedley games.  We need to learn to play under pressure, and we need to pick it up on offense.”

Scoring: Cobb 10, Holland 8, Massingill 8, Jenci White 7, Shadle 4, and Cornell 2.

Both the Broncos and the Lady Broncos will participate in the Claude Tournament January 3-5 and will play at Bushland January 11.

The Broncos will host Panhandle January 8 at home beginning at 5:00 p.m.

The Broncos have played some of their best basketball in each of the two playoff games they competed in last week.  They seemed to have the games scripted as they turned both of them into nail-biters for the coaches and fans while keeping it completely in their control. 

Junior T.J. Brown iced four free throws over the two games that was a definite turning point in each of the games.  Against Shamrock the free throws came very late in the game and stole the momentum away from the Irish as the Broncos went on to take that game 59-54 to claim the Bi-District title. 

Brown iced two more from the charity line with only three seconds left in the game against Boys Ranch to claim the Area title with the 57-56 overtime win.

In the Bi-District game Shamrock jumped out to take a big lead early on and led by seven at the end of the first period.  But a huge second quarter for the Broncos allowed them to even up the score at the break at 30-30.

The Irish held the slight advantage going into the final minutes, but the Broncos were determined, and they would not be denied the win. Four Broncos finished in double figures. 

“We never gave up,” Coach Colby Waldrop said.  “They came out hot, and we stayed with them.  They were playing with a lot of confidence. We were on an emotional roller coaster, but we came out on top in the end. This was a first playoff win in 10 years, and I am very proud of them.”

Scoring:  LaDez Captain 14, Brad Sell 13, Danzel Wilson 10, T.J. Brown 10, Alton Gaines 4, Dalton Askew 4, Derrick Shelton 2, and David Gordon 2.

The Boys Ranch game was nearly a repeat of the Shamrock game, but this time the game went into overtime.  The Rough Riders (who were ranked number eight in the state) looked to dominate early on, but the Broncos stayed close and only trailed by three points at the break.

Boys Ranch increased that lead in the third period with hopes of holding the Broncos at bay.  But Clarendon had a different ending in mind and continued to battle hard to tie the game at 46-46 at the end of regulation. 

With only 1:13 left on the clock in overtime, the Broncos were down by five points.  They fought back to come within one point when the clock read only three seconds.  It was enough time for Brown to sink two free throws to put the Broncos up by one point. 

Boys Ranch made one last attempt to score, but the buzzer went off before the shot was made, and the Broncos were declared the champions. 

“It was the gutsiest performance ever,” Waldrop said.  “They never gave up.  It was such an emotional win. David (Gordon) hit two huge free throws in the fourth quarter, and then T.J. hit what turned into be the biggest points of the game. I can’t even put into words how I felt about the way they all played. Derrick Shelton stepped up and had the biggest game of his life.  I am just very proud of all of them.”

Scoring:  Captain 19 (13 rebounds), Brown 15, (11 rebounds), Shelton 7, Sell 5, Gordon 4, Askew 3,Wilson 2, and Gaines 2.

The Broncos played a Regional Quarterfinal game against Vega in Amarillo on Tuesday night and were defeated, 45-28.

The Lady Broncos are pressing on in the playoffs as they strive to get closer to the state tournament with each win.  Their latest title of Area Champions came against a good Vega team in Amarillo on Friday night with a 57-55 victory.

At press time, the Lady Broncos are at 19-12 for the season.

Clarendon held a slight advantage early in the game but relinquished the lead before the break.  The tide turned somewhat in the third period, and the Lady Broncos found themselves down by five going into the final period. 

They grabbed the fourth quarter momentum and finished with a well-deserved victory to earn the Area championship over Vega.  The Ladies shot a very impressive 11 out of 12 free throws for 92 percent, compared to only 79 percent for the Lady Longhorns.

“Our motto has been Post Proelia Praemia, which is Latin for ‘After the battles, comes the rewards,’” Coach Steve Myatt said. “We are definitely living up to our motto! We are battling hard; and I give all the credit to the girls, assistant coaches Kasey Bell and Alton Gaines, and my wife, Darla.  It is nothing I have done.  Something is clicking for us right now, and we are excited.”

Scoring:  Jessie Howard 19, Macy Shadle 15, Abbie Massingill 12, Regan Lemley 8, and Haley Carter 3.

Earlier in the week, the Lady Broncos claimed the Bi-District Championship by defeating Quanah in Childress by the final of 53-29. 

The Ladies held a four-point edge at the end of the first period but completely owned the second quarter as they outscored their opponent 11-4 to give them a big lead going into the break.  The second half of the game turned into an offensive showcase for the Lady Broncos as Macy Shadle and Regan Lemley pumped in 22 and 21 points respectively. 

Shadle’s 22 included three three-pointers, and Lemley connected on four three-pointers to add to her total. 

“It was unbelievable team offense,” Myatt said.  “It was just awesome the entire game.”

Myatt gave credit to the entire team but felt sophomore Abbie Massingill played well against Quanah’s best post player. 

“Abbie did a great job against their post,” Myatt said.  “She played hard and stayed strong.” 

Offensively, Myatt was pleased with their play. 

“When our shooters got hot, the game was over.  It was our best game we have played so far all year.  It was our best ball.”

Scoring:  Shadle 22, Lemley 21, Howard 6, and Massingill 4.

The Lady Broncos will play Sudan on Wednesday, February 21, at Canyon High School beginning at 8:00 p.m. 

If they win that match up, they will travel to Fort Worth to the Regional Tournament.

The Hedley Lady Owls came out on top after the Clarendon Lady Broncos took it down to the wire in their own tournament over the holidays. 

The Hedley girls won the championship match of the Greenbelt Classic 43-47 in Saturday night’s game. 

Katie Gregory from Hedley earned the MVP award. All-Tournament honors went to Clarendon’s Jessi Howard and Macy Shadle.  Lockney won the Sportsmanship Award, and Megan McClain was the three-point contest winner.

The championship game was all even after the first quarter of play, but the Lady Owls claimed a small advantage at the break.  The Lady Broncos came back and outscored their opponent in the third period to come within one point at 30-31.  But Hedley was allowed too many free throws in the last quarter and took the four-point win.

Scoring for Clarendon were:  Jessi Howard 18, Macy Shadle 8, Regan Lemley 7, Abbie Massingill 4, Erin Holland 2, Sade Cobb 2, and Haley Carter 2.

Individual results for Hedley were not available at press time.

The Lady Broncos breezed through Groom, Highland Park, and Lockney to get to the championship game.  They defeated Groom 94-21 in the first round in a game that was definitely a team effort as everyone contributed to the win with five players recording double digits.

 Scoring:  Cobb 18, Shadle 17, Howard 16, Holland 10, Lemley 10, Haley Carter 7, Katie Askew 7, Jill Cornell 4, Massingill 4, and Shelby Watson 2.

The Ladies defeated Highland Park 68-51 in the second round in their second Thursday game.  Despite an improved effort by the Lady Hornets, the Lady Broncos were in complete control of the game from the tip-off.

Scoring:  Howard 15, Lemley 13, Shadle 11, Massingill 8, Askew 6, Cobb 5, Cornell 4, and Holland 4.

The Lady Broncos faced Lockney in the next round and got by them 36-33.  The game was tight throughout, but the Ladies stayed strong and got the win. 

“Overall, we feel like we are playing good,” Clarendon coach Steve Myatt said.  “We are improving, and we need to keep improving to make sure we are ready for District.”

Scoring:  Howard 13, Shadle 11, Cobb 5, Lemley 4, Carter 2, and Watson 1.

The Lady Broncos will travel to Memphis January 5 and will play Channing there January 9.  They will host Bushland January 12 with all games at 6:30 p.m.