When building his program at Sulphur Springs, Lady Cats Basketball Coach Jeff Chapman started by teaching defense. Later he turned his attention to offense. Coach Chapman said his team spends about an hour and a half working on defense at every practice. The rest of the district is beginning to notice. A Marshall team undefeated in district and with a record better than .500 managed only 13 points against the Lady Cats. Texas High was held to 37 and Longview to 41. Friday night Greenville’s Lady Lions had only 20. In Friday’s game, the Lady Cats took the Lady Lions out of their offense with 22 steals and 35 deflections. Coach Chapman said deflections lead to steals which lead to baskets. He was also pleased that all nine players on the team scored. The Lady Cats, 4-1 in district play, are tied for first place with Hallsville and Longview. The Lady Cats host Hallsville in Wildcats Gym Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Wildcats Assistant Basketball Coach Philip Manning wondered if the Wildcats might have a tough time of it Friday night at Greenville. While talking with Lions Coach Marcus Smith before the game, he learned that the Lions were coming off an emotional high. Tuesday night the Lions defeated a strong Longview team by five points at home after trailing by 15 points at the half. Smith also said the Lions’ practices the next two days were their best of the year. Still Coach Manning said the Wildcats outscored the Lions after one quarter 20-16 and led at the half 35-30. He said the Wildcats took a big lead during the third quarter and then held on as the Lions made a strong fourth quarter run. The Wildcats took at 72-65 win. The win gave the Wildcats a 1-2 district record that puts them in a tie for fourth place. They’ll face Hallsville Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Bobcats, also 1-2, are also coming off an emotional high as they defeated Mt. Pleasant at the buzzer on the road Friday night. Coach Manning said Hallsville is a tough place to play.
