GIRLS

Gatesville holds off China Spring for title

GATESVILLE — McKamie Place scored 21 and grabbed nine rebounds as Gatesville completed an undefeated district season with a 54-52 victory over China Spring.

China Spring (16-15, 8-2) appeared to score with a second remaining to tie the game but the basket was ruled no good because of a traveling violation.

The call gave Gatesville (24-8, 10-0) the district championship and relegated China Spring to second place.

The Lady Hornets looked to be pulling away early.

“We did a good job in transition and hit some shots,” Gatesville coach Megan Simoneau said.

Gatesville also shot 9-for-11 from the free-throw line in the first half and took a 32-23 lead into halftime.

China Spring picked up its energy in the third quarter and started working the ball inside on offense.

“Our offense ran a lot better in the second half,” China Spring coach Teresa Durham said. “We started working the ball inside to Cara (Gorton) which opened other things up.”

Gorton led all scorers with 26 and also had a game-high 14 rebounds.

Whitney damages West’s playoff hopes

Heather McPherson scored 14 points to lead Whitney past West, 37-32.

McPherson came up with a steal and a layup with 30 seconds remaining in the game to put Whitney (14-17, 3-7 District 7-3A) up for good in a back-and-forth game.

The loss may have cost West (13-15, 4-6) a playoff berth. Glen Rose could have claimed the third-place spot with a win over last-place Hillsboro on Tuesday night. Results were not available at press time.

Whitney led 17-14 at the end of the first half, but an 11-4 third-quarter run by West put them in the lead 25-21 heading into the final quarter.

Kristina Fabian scored nine to lead West.

La Vega tops Lorena, wins 19-3A outright

Brittany Norwood scored 10 points as La Vega defeated Lorena, 43-31, to claim the District 19-3A title.

The home win coupled with a Robinson loss gave La Vega the outright championship.

“We played championship defense,” La Vega coach Robert Salter said. “If we can just get the offense playing to the same level, we will do well.”

Lorena could not get its offense going, and La Vega took a 23-8 halftime lead.

La Vega’s Porsha Roberts was a big factor defensively as she blocked 10 shots and altered several more.

Lorena picked up the offense in the second half, but the lead was too big to overcome. Christen Batson led the Lady Leopards with 10 points.

Marlin avenges loss, locks up 20-2A title

MARLIN — Marlin won its fourth straight district championship and avenged a stunning loss from earlier this season with a convincing 64-36 win over Leon.

In the first meeting between the two schools, Marlin led by 17 points with 2:43 remaining only to see the lead evaporate into a loss.

Jasmine Armstead made sure that wouldn’t happen again, scoring 29 points, and DeShondria Davis scored all 14 of her points in the second half to help the Lady Bulldogs (22-10, 9-1 District 20-2A) blow a 28-22 halftime lead wide open.

“They remembered that game — they had (this one) circled on the calendar and were looking forward to it,” Marlin coach Bennie Huitt said. “Even in the fourth quarter, when we were up by 20, they just kept pushing.”

BOYS

Midway pulls within game of Ennis, 60-50

Midway’s playoff hopes aren’t quite dead yet.

The Panthers dropped Ennis, 60-50, on the road to move to within a game of Ennis for District 16-4A’s final playoff spot.

Jay Hook led with 13 points and Levi Norwood had 10 as Midway (14-18, 7-5) led the entire game but had to weather a third-quarter charge from Ennis (14-14, 8-4).

The Panthers led just 45-43 at the start of the fourth quarter, but Midway made a few key defensive stops and got the majority of its points in transition to stretch out the lead.

“We’re just fighting to stay alive,” Midway coach Rusty Walker said. “The kids made a great effort, we had some kids really step up and had some real balanced scoring.”

Midlothian takes down University

MIDLOTHIAN — University let go of its one-game lead in District 16-4A in a 52-39 loss to Midlothian.

Midlothian (17-11, 9-3) lost to the Trojans (20-12, 9-3) in overtime in Waco the last time these teams played, but Tuesday’s affair was decidedly more lopsided.

Midlothian largely kept post threat Kevin Thomas under wraps, holding the senior to just seven points. Jarrod Hall led the Trojans with 17 points but was their lone scorer in double digits.

Blaine Blackburn had 14 points and was one of four Panthers in double digits.

Midlothian led 25-18 at halftime and broke the game open in the fourth quarter by outscoring University 20-10.

#18 La Vega beats #14 Lorena, 59-55

DeChriston McKinney scored 14 and Garrett Nunley added 13 as No. 18 La Vega beat No. 14 Lorena, 59-55.

Travis McAninch scored eight points in the fourth quarter to help Lorena gain the lead but La Vega was able to seal the home win by converting 10 of 13 shots from the free-throw line down the stretch.

Lorena’s Jake Dickson led all scorers with 19. McAninch was held to 10.

Bosqueville’s balance upends Mart, 45-36

MART — A balanced scoring effort was enough for Bosqueville to knock off Mart, 45-36, and hold on to first place in District 16-1A Division I.

Hunter Perry led the Bulldogs (15-10, 7-1) with eight points, while Addison Collins, Cody Feight and D.J. McCormick chipped in with seven apiece.

Zach Matthys led all scorers with 19 points for the Panthers (5-11, 4-4).