Maggie Grimes, renewed defense lift Shallowater girls past Brock in region semifinal
WOLFFORTH — Shallowater girls basketball coach Kurt Richardson wished he could attribute his team's defensive turnaround to a tactical change he made. Instead, he gave the credit to the Fillies' grit.
Shallowater, the only unranked team at the Region I-3A tournament, allowed 15 points after the first quarter and got a push by Maggie Grimes' scoring to down No. 12 Brock 49-36 in the region semifinal at the Tiger Pit.
The Eagles led 21-11 through the opening period, but didn't score more than seven in a quarter after.
Grimes, one of three Shallowater players dealing with foul trouble throughout the contest, was pivotal in the second half. She scored four points in the final minute of the third quarter then hit a 3 to start the fourth quarter and give the Fillies their first lead of the second half.
Grimes extended the advantage to 39-35 with 3:28 but couldn't convert the and-one. She made up for it a minute later with a 3-pointer that up the Fillies up seven. Grimes finished with a game-high 14 points.
"Maggie, she just battles, man," Richardson said. "She struggled that first half with some foul trouble. The bucket right after halftime was big. Kind of got her going, got everybody else going, then obviously her 3s were big."
Those buckets came during a 3-minute stretch Shallowater held Brock scoreless. The Eagles made one field goal in the final frame.
The Eagles managed two points and no field goals in the second quarter, but their defense allowed them to maintain a lead. Brock went into the break up 23-17 after giving up six points in the frame.
Eagles forward Keira Mathews started hot with nine points in the opening stanza but was scoreless in the second. She exited with 4:40 in the third quarter after picking up her fourth foul. Mathews finished with a team-high 11 points.
Shallowater will face Tuscola Jim Ned in the region final 1:30 p.m. Saturday, back at the Tiger Pit.
"Maggie made a lot of big plays; We had a lot of other kids make some big plays, offensively, defensively," Richardson said. "Brock's so dang good. We were fortunate they missed a couple shots that I know they normally make. …
"Our kids just battled. I'm so proud of them. They've learned their lessons from the beginning of the year. Hopefully we continue learning."
REGION I-3A SEMIFINAL
Shallowater 49, Brock 36
Brock 21 2 7 6 — 36
Shallowater 11 6 12 20 — 49
Brock (27-10): Riggs Brackney 3, Taegan Sanders 3, Jillian Gleaton 5, Savannah Hatcher 1, Jacee Riddle 8, Kylie Allen 2, Keira Mathews 11, Hannah Beth Hughes 5.
Shallowater (25-12): Carli Buckley 5, Linley Wright 8, Maggie Grimes 14, Keelie Williams 6, Addison Pitts 6, Sidney Venable 6.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Maggie Grimes boosts Shallowater past Brock in Region I-3A semifinal
