Neches, Slocum into regional tourney, three boys teams move on

Feb. 21—The Neches Lady Tigers and Slocum Lady Mustangs punched their tickets into the girls regional basketball tournament with third round wins Tuesday, and will travel to Austin for the regional semi-finals this Friday.

The Palestine Wildcats, Grapeland Sandies and Westwood Panthers all handled business in the first round of the boys basketball postseason, securing bi-district championships for all three schools.

Neches Lady Tigers

The Neches Lady Tigers continued their dominating run through the playoffs with another blowout victory Tuesday night, downing the Brookeland LadyCats 62-32.

Junior's Aubrey Kincade and Sealy Hines led the way for the Lady Tigers, combining for 34 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and 6 steals in the win.

Neches will face possibly its toughest test of the season so far in the regional semi-final, as the Lady Tigers will square off with the 33-4 Rocksprings Lady Angoras. Rocksprings is an experienced group, with six seniors on the eight girl squad, and will be led by 5'9 senior Claire Buleson, who averages almost 17 points a game.

Tipoff for the Neches Lady Tigers and Rocksprings Lady Angoras is set for 6 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 23, and will be played at the Burger Activity Center in Austin.

Slocum Lady Mustangs

The Slocum Lady Mustangs keep piling up wins, and will be the second of two 1A District 27 representatives to play for a spot in the regional final.

The Lady Mustangs earned their way into the regional tournament by defeating the Zavalla Lady Eagles 34-30 behind Jillian Salmon's team leading 12 points. Audrey Leuschner shared in the heavy lifting, going 3-3 from behind the three-point arc for nine points. Claire Bailey and Lexi Bennett both chipped in six for the victorious Lady Mustangs.

Slocum will also have a big test in the regional semi-final, as they will face the D'Hanis Cowgirls, a traditional power in the 1A ranks. This year, the Cowgirls are 21-9, and look ripe for the picking for Slocum.

Slocum and D'Hanis will tip off at 8 p.m. Friday night, in a game that will also be played at Burger Activity Center in Austin.

Of note, if the Neches Lady Tigers and Slocum Lady Mustangs are both victorious, they will meet at 12 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, in the regional final. Whoever wins the regional final, be it Neches, Slocum, Rock Springs or D'Hanis, they will represent Region 3 in the University Interscholastic League's state tournament in San Antonio, starting Feb 29.

Palestine Wildcats

The Palestine Wildcats sent the Kilgore Bulldogs home early Tuesday, knocking off one of the premier athletic programs in the state in their first round matchup.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 10-6 lead after one quarter of play, but the Wildcats would turn on the juice in the second quarter to take a 20-17 lead into the halftime break. After opening the third quarter by building an 11 point lead, the Wildcats allowed the Bulldogs back in the game, as Kilgore would cut the deficit to four in the third quarter. Wildcat senior K'Mari Gipson took control in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of his team high 20 points in the quarter, fending off the Bulldogs and earning Palestine a bi-district championship.

The Palestine Wildcats, 20-8, will see the Silsbee Tigers, 24-9, in the area round in a game that promises to deliver fireworks. Silsbee, winner of 10 straight, are a high powered team that scored over 100 points in all but two district games this year, earning a perfect 12-0 district record, and winning the District 19 crown.

Tipoff for the Wildcats and Tigers area showdown is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb 22, at Nacogdoches High School.

Westwood Panthers

The Westwood Panthers will be advancing the area round of the UIL 3A basketball postseason after downing the Troy Trojans 64-56 Tuesday.

The Panthers, led by freshman Kavian Bryant's 30 point night, built a big lead in the first half, going into halftime up by 15. The Panthers defense would struggle a bit in the second half, allowing the Trojans to get within five points late in the fourth quarter. The Panthers buckled down over the final minutes of the contest, helped along by clutch free throw shooting from sophomore guard Chris Carter, and held on to win, punching their ticket into the second round.

Westwood, 24-8, will see a feisty Kemp Yellowjackets squad in the second round. Kemp, 12-22, had to win their final four district contests just to make the playoffs, then defeated District 17 champion Keene 58-55 to advance into the area round.

Game time for the area championship between Westwood and Kemp is slated for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, and will be played at Corsicana High School.

Grapeland Sandies

The Grapeland Sandies will move onto the area championship round of the UIL playoffs after defeating the up-and-coming Cayuga Wildcats, 63-52.

The Grapeland Sandies, 25-10, who have won a district championship in 16 straight seasons, will move on to face the Bremond Tigers, 20-10, in the area round. The Tigers are a scrappy team that has been sharpened by high level district play, finishing third in the 2A District 18 standings behind the Marlin Bulldogs, 14-0 within district, and Dawson Bulldogs, 11-3 in district.

Tip off for the 2A heavyweight area showdown is set for 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at Leon High School in Leon.

Frankston Indians, Cayuga Wildcats and Oakwood Panthers

The Frankston Indians, Cayuga Wildcats and Oakwood Panthers all saw their season come to a close in the first round, ending fantastic seasons for all three squads.

Frankston fell to Centerville, 48-45, ending their season with a 26-8 record. The Indians are poised to have another run into the playoffs in the 2024-25 season, as they will return all but two players next year. Kaymon Davis and Alex Prater are the lone Indians that will graduate this year.

Cayuga, after being selected to finish dead last in the 2A District 19 standings, had a great run this year, culminating in a playoff appearance, and finishing fourth within their district. Cayuga will also return much of the same team next season, as they too will only graduate a pair of Wildcats this season in Ben Winkel and Whit Jenkins.

Oakwood is much in the same boat, graduating a pair of seniors after a successful season, and returning much of the Panther core for another run next season. Freshman Dayden Velasquez looks to be a centerpiece the Panthers can build around for the next three years, and should lead the team to new heights in 2024.

Contributions to this article were made by Tony Watson, JD Byrd and Ricky Honea of the E-TEX Radio Group.