Senior Night Game Provides Wildcats Opportunity to Secure District Title
The #14 ranked Wildcats’ basketball team took another step toward a district championship as they defeated Greenville, 75-42 on the road Friday night. The Wildcats can wrap up a rare district championship Tuesday night at home on senior night against Hallsville.
The Wildcats build a lead throughout the night outscoring the Lions in each quarter. It was 18-9 after one quarter, 34-20 at halftime, 52-31 after three quarters and 75-42 at the end. Young post player Cameron Kahn had his finest varsity game by far leading the Wildcats with 16 points. Victor Iwuakor scored 14. Godsgift Ezedinma had 12. Day Day Hall scored 8. Keaston Willis and Jeremiah Roland had 6 points each. Bryson Lynn and Xavier Cork scored 5 points each. Michael Jefferson and Dedric Godbolt scored 2 points apiece. Grayson McClure scored 1 point.
The Wildcats improved their district record to 10-1. They are 27-4 for the season.
Lady Cats Basketball Plays Poteet in Bi-District Monday
The Texas High Lady Tigers made some key plays down the stretch to squeeze by the #14 ranked Lady Cats’ basketball team, 64-61 at Paris Friday night to take the top seed in the district in the playoffs. Texas High will play Highland Park. The Lady Cats, a second seed, will meet Mesquite Poteet in a bi-district game Monday at 7 p.m. at Emory Rains.
With the Lady Cats up by 2 points in the game’s final seconds, Texas High hit a big three pointer to take a 62-61 lead. The Lady Tigers got a steal and a basket in the games final 11 seconds as the Lady Cats were trying to make a winning shot.
Autumn Tanton played one of her best games as a Lady Cat scoring 27 points. Kaylee Jefferson added 16 points and Sadavia Porter scored 12. Imani Taylor had 4 points and Te’arria Rose 2. The Lady Cats shot 45% from the floor making 23 of 51 shots. They managed only 2 of 7 from three-point range for 29%. Taylor and Porter hit one three-point basket each. The Lady Cats hit 13 of 20 free throws for 65%. Jefferson and Tanton did a good job rebounding. Jefferson had 14 rebounds including 6 offensive boards. Tanton had 11 rebounds with 7 of them offensive rebounds. The Lady Cats had 45 rebounds including 19 offensive boards. The Lady Cats had 6 deflections and 8 steals. Jefferson and Tanton had one block apiece. The Lady Cats committed 23 turnovers.
The Lady Cats season record is now 25-5.
Alvarez, Tavera Hat-tricks Assure Wildcat Soccer Win
The Wildcats’ soccer team scored early and often in a 10-1 romp over Texas High Friday night at Prim Stadium.
Johnathan Alvarez and Angel Tavera had three goal hat tricks. Kevin Yanez scored two goals. Alex Diosdado and Eduardo Ramirez had one goal each. Tavera, D.J. Abron and Enrique Arellano had one assist apiece.
The Wildcats improved to 2-1 in district play. Their season record is now 9-7. The Wildcats have a bye next Tuesday. They play next at Mount Pleasant next Friday.
Lady Cat Soccer Remains Unbeaten in District Play
The Lady Cats’ soccer team remained unbeaten in district play as they defeated Texas High, 3-1 in Texarkana Friday night.
The match was tied at the half, 1-1 but the Lady Cats scored two unanswered goals in the second half. The match marked the first meeting between the Lady Cats and their former coach Jesus DeLeon, now the Texas High Coach.
The Lady Cats got a free kick goal from Jo McMillan, a goal from Mileena Zirretta assisted by Taylor Robinson and a goal by Gracie Boyer assisted by Zirretta. Keeper McKenna Gammill had 16 saves including one on a Texas High penalty kick.
The Lady Cats are now 3-0 in district play. Their season record is now 11-2-3. The Lady Cats have a bye Tuesday. They play next against Mount Pleasant at Gerald Prim Stadium next Friday.
Upcoming Senior Events: February 2018
Lady Cat Softball Defeat Lindale; Lost to Wylie East Thursday
The Lady Cats’ softball team played in their third scrimmage of the season Thursday evening and this one was at Lady Cat Park on a cool night. The Lady Cats defeated Lindale, 5-2 and then lost to Wylie East 6-5 when Lady Cats’ pitchers had a hard time locating the strike zone.
Lady Cats Coach David Carrillo said the Lady Cats played very well overall. He said they hit the ball well and played pretty good defense. Brinklee Driver had a big hit in a 5-run second inning. Her double high off the center field wall drove home three runs. Six other Lady Cats rapped out singles in the game: Sierra Smith, Macee Hollins, Landri Bell, Alyssa Abron, Kelsey Wallace and Sadie Stroud. Bailey Haggerty pitched well against Lindale. She struck out seven in four innings and gave up only one earned run.
The second game lasted only two and a half innings. The Lady Cats scored two first inning runs. Abron led off with a triple that bounced off the left field wall on one bounce. Wallace’s single brought home Abron. Driver hit another double. Wallace scored on a wild pitch. The Lady Cats added 3 more runs in the second inning. The Lady Cats loaded the bases on a Hollins single and walks to Bell and Abron. Hollins scored on a wild pitch. Driver walked and Stroud had an RBI single. Alli Fite pitched a scoreless first inning but then ran into control problems in the second. Wylie East scored three runs in the second inning without a hit. They used walks and wild pitches. They scored the winning runs in a three-run third off Lady Cat pitcher Cheslea Roberts. Wylie East put runners on with two walks, a hit batter and a single. A double plated two runs to put the Lady Pirates ahead. The Lady Cats had 5 runs and 5 hits. Wylie East scored six runs with 2 hits.
The Lady Cats have their last scrimmage Friday at 4 p.m. against North Lamar at Lady Cat Park. Coach Carrillo said he would use the last scrimmage to get ready for Monday’s season opener at Athens at 6 p.m.
Wildcat Baseball Off to Good Start
Wildcats Baseball Coach Jerrod Hammack said his team’s first scrimmage Thursday (February 8) evening in Sherman was a good one. The Wildcats won 7-3. The scrimmage was rescheduled from Monday due to cold weather.
Coach Hammack said generally pitchers are ahead of hitters this time of the season. He said he used four pitchers against Sherman. Tyler Armstrong, Jaxon Chaney, Ryan Humphries and Triston McCormick threw two innings apiece. Coach Hammack said they got a lot of strikeouts. He said they only yielded three hits and he said one was controversial. A Bearcat socked a three run home run but Coach Hammack said it appeared at least ten feet foul. He said an umpire told him after the game they got the call wrong.
Since the Wildcats’ pitchers struck out so many batters, Coach Hammack said he really didn’t get much of a chance to see the Wildcats play defense. He said the Wildcats made good contact at bat and scored seven runs. Coach Hammack said it was the first time they had faced live pitching this season.
The Wildcats play a second scrimmage Friday (February 9). They travel to Terrell for a 6 p.m. scrimmage. Coach Hammack hopes to use six more pitchers. He expects his batters to be more comfortable at the plate. Coach Hammack said he has the bulk of last year’s team back. He said he has some good additions from last year’s JV. Coach Hammack said this could be a super year.
Dr. Betty Block named Fellow of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education for Her Leadership and Service
COMMERCE, TX— On January 4, 2018, Dr. Betty Block, professor of Kinesiology in the Department of Health and Human Performance at Texas A&M University-Commerce, was named the 25th Fellow of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education.
A National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education (NAKHE) Fellow is one of the acknowledged leaders in the field of kinesiology who has the added distinction of providing ten or more years of outstanding service to the organization.
“Her leadership, service and scholarly contributions have extended beyond the field of kinesiology to her home institution, community, and beyond,” said Ron Feingold, Chair, Fellows Committee, NAKHE. “These contributions bring distinction to her university and the profession of kinesiology.”
The NAKHE is the oldest academic society in kinesiology solely focused on higher education and professional development issues. Scholars from all over the world come together annually to examine issues of importance to the discipline and profession, and its publications provide a forum for the discussion of ideas that are important to kinesiology.
“I’m honored and humbled to receive one of the highest honors that the colleagues in my field can bestow,” said Dr. Block, who was given the fellowship for her ongoing commitment to NAKHE leadership, scholarship, and the training of young professionals in Kinesiology in higher education.
Game Day: SSHS Basketball, Soccer, Tennis; Lady Cat Seeding Game Broadcast on KSST
Basketball Game Day
Both the #14 ranked Lady Cats and #14 ranked Wildcats’ basketball teams have important games on this Friday (February 9) game day. The Lady Cats and Texas High, basketball district co-champions with district records of 11-1, will play a game to determine playoff seeding Friday night at 7 p.m. at Paris. This is the fourth game between the two this season. Texas High won at the Winnsboro Hoopfest, 46-38, the Lady Cats won a district game at Texarkana, 47-44 and Texas High won a district game in Sulphur Springs, 68-37. The Lady Cats are 25-4 for the season. The winner of Friday night’s seeding game will play Highland Park Monday at 7 p.m. at Tyler Junior College. The number two seed will play Mesquite Poteet Monday at 7 p.m. at Emory Rains. We will bring you Lady Cats’ basketball against Texas High Friday at 7 p.m. live from Paris on KSST Radio. We will also videotape the game for replay later on Channel 18 on Suddenlnik Cable.
Meanwhile the Wildcats’ basketball team has an important district game at Greenville. The Wildcats come into the game in first place in district after Tuesday night’s home win over Mount Pleasant, 67-58. The Wildcats are 9-1 in district play and 26-4 for the season. Mount Pleasant is a half game back at 9-2. The Wildcats won the first district match up with Greenville 63-37 in Wildcats Gym.
Soccer (with Tennis) Game Day
The Wildcats and Lady Cats’ soccer teams have district games on this Friday (February 9) game day. The Wildcats will be in action at Gerald Prim Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. as they take on Texas High. The Wildcats are 1-1 so far in district play with a home loss to Pine Tree, 3-0 and a road win at Marshall, 2-0 in overtime. The Wildcats are 8-7 for the season. Texas High is 0-1 in district play.
Meanwhile the Lady Cats’ soccer team has an intriguing match up as they travel to Texarkana to play Texas High, coached by former Lady Cats’ Coach Jesus DeLeon. Coach DeLeon scouted the Lady Cats on Tuesday night at Prim Stadium. The Lady Cats are off to a fabulous start. They are 2-0 in district play with two shutouts. The Lady Cats won at Pine Tree, 1-0 and they won at home against Marshall, 5-0. The Lady Cats have a season record of 10-2-3. Texas High is 1-0 in district play with a win at Marshall.
One final game day note. The Wildcats’ tennis team is playing in their second tournament of the season Friday at Kilgore. Matches got started at 8 a.m. Friday.
