The Littlefield Lady Cats’ varsity basketball team added another gold ball to the trophy case on Monday evening, as they traveled to Seminole and took down the Kermit Lady Jackets, 68-30, to claim the Class 3A Bidistrict trophy.
With the win, the Lady Cats improve to 22-11 overall on the season.
The Lady Cats came out of the gates strong, as Brookelyn Gau knocked down a jumper from the left elbow, off of the assist from Arianna Cruz to open the contest. Raven Gonzalez responded with a lay-up in transition, but Cruz fired right back on the other end, with a three from the right wing to push their lead to, 5-2, with 5:17 left to play in the opening quarter.
With just over five minutes remaining in the quarter, Emily Champion picked up a steal and got it ahead to Kennadi Hanlin, who was fouled on an attempt by Adrianna Olivas. She converted both free throws to extend their lead to, 7-2. Maria Froese knocked down a jumper from the right elbow to trim the lead to, 7-4, but on the other end, Madison McNeese drained a jumper from the left side and Hanlin followed it up with a jumper from the right elbow, stretching their lead out to, 11-4.
Monika Leyva knocked down a short jumper from the left side for Kermit, but Gau was fouled on the other end by Audrey Salais. She split the free throws, pushing their lead to, 12-6, with 2:42 remaining in the first first quarter. Littlefield went on a tear to close out the first quarter, as Champion buried a three from the top of the key, off of the assist from Leilani Solis and McNeese followed it up with a steal in their own end and took it to the hoop for an easy lay-up to make the score, 17-6.
Gau knocked down a jumper in the lane, off of the assist from Jazmine Barrios and in the closing seconds, McNeese knocked down a jumper from the right wing and followed it up with a three from the right elbow to close out the quarter with the Lady Cats in control, 24-6.
Cruz opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes and Gau followed it up with a lay-up off of the assist from Mahalia Huey, pushing their lead to 32-6, with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. McNeese was fouled on the floor by Leyva and converted both free throws to extend their lead to, 34-6.
Froese got the Lady Jackets on the board in the second quarter with a put-back off of a miss by Leyva, but with just over two minutes left to play in the half, Solis was fouled on the floor by Leyva, earning a trip to the line. She split the attempts at the line and Kermit responded, as Ebbin Mallory dropped in a lay-up off of the assist from Salais and on their next possession, Marissa Davila was fouled on an attempt by Gau. She split the free throws, trimming the lead to, 35-11, with 1:03 left to play in the half.
Cali Saldana hit Barrios on a backdoor cut for a lay-up and Gau split a pair of free throws to close out the first half with the Lady Cats cruising, 38-11.
Gau opened the second half with a lay-up off of the assist from Cruz, but Gonzalez took a charge on Parker to give Kermit an extra possession with 7:01 remaining in the quarter. Olivas buried a three from the top of the key for Kermit, as Littlefield called for a time out with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter. Out of the break, McNeese dropped in a lay-up, drawing an andone foul on Olivas. She converted the free throw to extend their lead to, 43- 14, with 4:29 left to play in the quarter.
Mallory dropped in a lay-up in transition for Kermit, as they took a time out with 3:12 left to play in the quarter. Out of the break, Salais was fouled on an attempt by Huey. She converted both free throws to trim the lead to, 43-18. Parker grabbed an offensive rebound off of a missed free throw by Hanlin and was fouled on the floor by Mallory, earning a one-in-one opportunity at the line. She made the first and missed the second, pushing the lead to, 44-18.
Mallory and Amiah Elizondo each split a pair of free throws and in the closing seconds of the quarter, Salais was fouled on the floor by Hanlin and split the free throws to make the score, 44-20, going into the final quarter of play.
Kermit opened the fourth quarter on a, 3-0, scoring run, before Parker dropped in a lay-up off of the assist from McNeese, making the score, 47- 23. McNeese followed it up with a three from the right wing off of the assist from Cruz and Champion dropped in a lay-up to stretch their lead to, 52-23. Davila split a pair of free throws for Kermit, but McNeese responded with a three from the left elbow off of the assist from Parker to make the score, 55-24, with 5:49 left to play in the game.
Cruz dropped in a lay-up off of an assist from McNeese and on their next possession, Cruz was fouled on an attempt by Olivas; she converted both free throws to make the score, 59-24. Davila knocked down a jumper from the left elbow for Kermit, but McNeese drove the left side of the basket for a lay-up and she was fouled on their next possession by Davila, earning a trip to the line. She split the free throws, making the score, 62-26.
Salais dropped in a lay-up off of an assist from Mallory, but Solis answered with a runner in the lane, as she drew an and-one foul on Mallory. She missed the free throw was able to gather the offensive rebound and put it back up for two points, pushing their lead to, 66-28. With under one minute to play in the game, Mallory scored a put-back off of a miss by Leyva, but Elizondo answered with a lay-up, as the Lady Cats cruised to victory over Kermit, 68-30.
McNeese led the team in scoring with 23 points to go along with three assists, three steals and two rebounds, while Cruz tallied 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, and Gau added 11 points, five steals, three rebounds, one assist and one block. Solis tallied five points, three rebounds and one steal, while Champion chipped in five points, three steals, two assists and one rebound.
Parker notched three points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Elizondo added three points and four rebounds, and Hanlin tallied three points, two steals and one assist. Barrios added two points, while Huey chipped in two steals, one assist and one rebound, and Saldana finished with two assists and one rebound.
The Lady Cats play #1 Canadian in the Class 3A Area Round of the Playoffs on Thursday.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.