Wildcats Basketball
Wildcats Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta believes playing tough teams, like his team did in a Longview tournament last week, will pay dividends in the future. The Wildcats lost to Pro Vision of Houston and Houston Sam Houston, teams Coach Cipoletta says are two of the top ones in Texas and in the nation. Sam Houston is the #1 team in Class 6A in the state. The Wildcats also lost a game to Dallas Skyline, #2 in Class 6A, in a Royse City tournament. Coach Cipoletta says those types of games will make the Wildcats better and give them confidence moving forward letting them know that if they play their style of game with confidence, they can compete with anyone in the state. The Wildcats may need that confidence as they face defending district champion Marshall in Wildcats Gym Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. Coach Cipoletta says Marshall is like they always are, athletic and pressing all over the court. He says they are hard to prepare for. Coach Cipoletta says if they sense a weakness they will trap you. He says if players don’t come toward passes, especially lofted passes, Marshall will intercept them. Coach Cipoletta says his past teams have been able to stay with Marshall for a quarter or two. He says this year’s team is more capable to putting four quarters together for a win against the Mavericks. Coach Cipoletta says the Wildcats have had two straight excellent practices. The Wildcats season record is 16-4 after a 2-2 showing in a Longview tournament last week. We will bring you the varsity Marshall and Wildcats game on KSST Radio starting at around 7:30 p.m. We will also videotape the game for replay on Channel 18 TV on Suddenlink Cable at a later date.
Lady Cats Basketball
Lady Cats’ basketball resumes district play at Marshall Tuesday night. There will be a freshman game at 5 p.m., a JV game at around 6:15 p.m. and the varsity game at around 7:30 p.m. The Lady Cats ended 2016 on a positive note as they captured first place in an Idabel, Oklahoma tournament last week. They went 3-0 in the tournament and improved their season record to 17-3. During December, the Lady Cats went 3-0 in district play winning on the road at Greenville and at home against Hallsville and Pine Tree.
Soccer Game Day
Both the Wildcats and Lady Cats’ soccer teams will be having final tune up scrimmages Tuesday night to get ready for the regular season that gets underway in tournament games Thursday.
The Lady Cats will scrimmage old rival North Lamar at the SSHS High School Track Complex Soccer Field Tuesday night. The freshman Lady Cats play the Pantherettes at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity scrimmages North Lamar at around 7:15 p.m. It is the fourth scrimmage for the Lady Cats. They open the regular season Thursday in a Terrell tournament against South Garland and Hillcrest.
The Wildcats wrap up their scrimmage portion of the season at Royse City Tuesday night. The Wildcats JV takes on the Bulldogs at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity to follow at around 7 p.m. The Wildcats only other scrimmage was Saturday night’s Alumni Scrimmage. The Wildcats open the regular season Thursday in a Forney tournament against Garland Lakeview Centennial and Richardson J.J. Pearce.
