GIRLS BASKETBALL BI-DISTRICTS: Lady Sharks earn rare playoff victory
Published 10:15 pm Tuesday, February 18, 2020
More than a week after winning its first district championship in 50 years, Sabine Pass’ girls basketball team achieved another rare feat Tuesday night.
Sisters Charnel and Jamesia Jones led a balanced scoring effort in helping the Lady Sharks take a 44-31 victory over Colmesneil in a Class 2A bi-district game at Deweyville High School. It is the first playoff victory for the Lady Sharks in at least 16 years, according to coach Cody Almond.
“The defense was on point,” Almond said Tuesday. “We gave up only 15 points at halftime.”
Sabine Pass will next play Shelbyville at 6 p.m. Thursday in Kirbyville.
Charnel Jones had 12 points and Jamesia Jones totaled 10 for the Lady Sharks (17-5), who led by as many as 18 points. Yainn Zuniga added nine points.
Sabine Pass is enjoying a turnaround season, rebounding from an 0-8 finish in district play last year.
5A: Galveston Ball 49,
Port Neches-Groves 40
PNG suffered the same outcome as last year’s bi-district game, but in a different setting.
In Winnie, third-seeded Ball from District 22-5A eliminated the 21-5A runner-up Indians from the playoffs for the second year in a row despite 14 points from Mollee Priddy and 12 points from Maylin Stampley. PNG (19-10), which beat Ball 43-40 on Dec. 27, led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter.
Chanielyn Galloway led the Lady Tors (14-14) with 24 points.
“She definitely had the height advantage on us,” Indians coach Kara Skinner said.
This was only the second playoff game in program history for PNG. Ball will take on either Houston Sharpstown or Richmond Foster.
5A: Friendswood 70,
Nederland 25
At Lee College in Baytown, the Bulldogs’ first playoff game in 20 years ended in a 45-point defeat.
Nederland finished the season 16-18. Friendswood (23-7) next will take on Manvel, which defeated Houston Northside in bi-districts.
“They’re an extremely well-coached group of girls,” first-year Bulldogs coach Jody Walker said. “They just did what they did very well. They got out and pressed us, and we got behind.”
No statistics were available, but Walker said the playoff experience would provide great motivation for his team next season.