SBISD | Girls' Basketball
Bolstered by returning volleyball players, the Sulphur Bluff varsity and junior varsity girls would head west down Highway 71 to defeat the North Hopkins Panthers narrowly with a 48-43 and 23-22 win, respectively.
The varsity girls move to 5-1 overall, and this is the first game, and first win, for the JV girls.
VARSITY GIRLS
The Lady Bears would start slow in the first and only score 4 points to the Lady Panther’s 8, but Sulphur Bluff gained steam during the second quarter as they scored 15 points to jump to a 19-16 lead.
In the third quarter, the Lady Panthers would cut down the Lady Bears’ lead to just 28-27, but then Sulphur Bluff exploded in the fourth quarter, racking up 20 points to seal the win 48-43.
The Lady Bears took home the win despite missing 15 free throws, according to Head Coach Zandra Peyton, but she said once players are able to practice shooting more, “we can make some of these easy shots.”
“In the last few games, their fourth quarter has been the highest-point quarter, and in the first quarter we start out slow,” Peyton said. “We have five of the varsity girls run cross country this season, and I believe this has really paid off in the 4th quarter.”
Top scorers for Sulphur Bluff were Ann Dorner with 15 points and Alley Collet with 13. Bailey Neal and Jada Wade posted 6 points apiece, and Skyler Stanley and Dalena di Donato also marked matching 4-point totals.
The varsity girls next face Yantis at home Tuesday.
JV GIRLS
In their first game of the season, the Sulphur Bluff JV girls came away with a close 23-22 away win over the North Hopkins Panthers.
The Lady Bears would jump to an early 8-2 lead in the first quarter and would hold the Panthers’ offense to no points during the second quarter while Sulphur Bluff extended their lead to 14-2.
However, the Panthers would strike back during the second half, starting with a 9-2 third quarter to take down the lead to 16-11. The fourth quarter proved to be even closer as the Panthers outscored Sulphur Bluff again 11-7, but their effort fell just short of stopping the Lady Bears’ win.
The top scorers for Sulphur Bluff were Lydia Drummond with 8 points, Taylor Wallis with 6 and Molly Kelley with 5. Allie Eason and Destiny Johnson both posted 2 points apiece.
The JV girls will next travel to Como-Pickton Dec. 17 to face the Lady Eagles. Tipoff is at 4:30 p.m.