Lady Bobcats advance in basketball playoffs

The state playoffs in girls high school basketball began Monday, February 12, with three local teams participating. Both Bridge City and Little Cypress Mauriceville in Class 4A as well as Orangefield in Class 3A earned spots to the post season.

The Orangefield Lady Bobcats have advanced to the second round of the state basketball playoffs. Orangefield beat the Woodville Lady Eagles 51-48 in overtime at Kirbyville on Monday.

The Lady Bobcats were led by their fantastic freshman Mikayla Locke who scored 20 points, grabbed 2 rebounds, and made 2 steals. Rebecca Durbin was dominate inside achieving a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Steeley Franklin made phenomenal contributions with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. Greenlea Oldham fought hard for 9 rebounds and added 5 points to the winning Orangefield effort.

The win allows the Lady Bobcats to move on to the Area Round of the post season. Orangefield will face the winner of the Anderson Shiro and Boling playoff with details to come after the opponent is determined.

The Orangefield Lady Bobcats finished the regular season with a 12-2 record which earned them second place in District 22-3A behind first place Kountze. The Lady Bobcats won their only game last week 56-14 over Anahuac.

The game featured a great effort by Mikayla Locke scoring 15 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, making 2 steals, and dishing out 2 assists. Brooklyn Wagoner scored 7 points and Steeley Franklin finished with 5 points.

Seniors Greenlea Oldham, Bri Moore, Ava Dyer, and Kaylea Gravett played their final home games for Orangefield. Oldham and Moore scored 9 points apiece and Dyer chipped in with 4 points. Oldham also had 12 rebounds, Moore made 4 rebounds, and Dyer had 6 boards. Gravett contributed 5 steals for the Lady Bobcats.

The basketball season came to an end for the Bridge City Lady Cardinals on Monday, February 12, in the first round of the state playoffs. The Lady Cardinals lost to Liberty 40-22 in Winnie.

The game was close at the half with Bridge City trailing by just two points 16-14. The second half would see the Lady Cardinals only score eight points.

Turnovers and poor free throw shooting hurt Bridge City. The Lady Cardinals made 22 turnovers in the first three quarters alone and missed 10 of their free throws. None of the Lady Cardinals scored more than five points.

Bridge City battled the Lumberton Lady Raiders for second place in District 19-4A. A seed game was played on Friday, February 9, at Deweyville which Lumberton won 52-43 to claim second place. Whitney Cunningham made a valiant effort in the loss with 11 points for the Lady Cardinals.

Bridge City forced the seed game by winning 51-41 at home on Tuesday, February 6, against the Lady Raiders. Three Lady Cardinals scored in double figures as Kennedy Campbell scored 13 points, Kaylee Britten got 11 points, and Nicole Sasser had 10 points. Rylynn Thornton led with 11rebounds.

It was senior night for Bridge City. Seniors Laken Bellanger, Rylynn Thornton, Shayanne Black, and Brooke Carpenter were recognized with their families in a pregame ceremony.

The Little Cypress Mauriceville girls closed out their basketball season on Monday, February 12, losing 80-22 to Hardin-Jefferson at Kountze in the first round of the state playoffs. The Lady Bears concluded their regular season with an impressive 69-20 win over Jasper on Tuesday of last week. The Lady Bears finished the district with a record of 7-5 and were a fourth seed going into the post season.