The Shoemaker Lady Grey Wolves basketball team on Friday night pocketed the prized, last-remaining playoff ticket in District 22-5A while the Ellison Eagles won for the 10th straight time in clinching at least a share of the league title with one game left in the regular season.
Facing the Lady Lions for the second time in four days and for a third time this season, Shoemaker left no doubt as to which team the final 22-5A playoff spot belonged, pulling away for a 46-32 victory in the play-in tiebreaker at Temple High.
“It’s become a standard now. That’s what we’ve talked about the last week –– making it our legacy to reach the playoffs,” said Shoemaker head coach Elise Kea, whose team outscored Waco 40-23 after the first quarter. “Now, we’ve got to win. We have to go there and win. It is a big accomplishment but we’re not done yet. We’re not satisfied.”
The Lady Grey Wolves (17-17) get a chance to quench that thirst for a playoff win at 7:30 p.m. Monday against 21-5A champion Montgomery Lake Creek at Hearne High School.
The other playoff matchups for KISD girls teams from 22-5A are: Chaparral vs. Magnolia, 6 p.m. Monday in Cameron; and Ellison vs. Magnolia West, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday in Caldwell.
With an enthusiastic crowd, which included players from fellow Killeen ISD teams, in Shoemaker’s corner, Wildcat Gym nearly felt like a home game for the Lady Grey Wolves, who defeated the Lady Lions on Tuesday to tie for fourth and force the play-in contest.
Waco led 9-6 after the first quarter Friday, but the Grey Wolves settled in after falling behind 12-6 early in the second.
From there, rebounds were gathered at a prolific pace, points in the paint piled up and defense began to dictate the flow on Waco’s end of the floor.
It added up to Shoemaker outscoring the Lady Lions by 13 points in the second period for a 25-15 advantage at halftime.
Amber Robinson had a team-high 14 points, Iyanna Billups posted 11, Kenyjah Richards and Alexis Robinson six apiece, Kaylee St. George five, and Sophia Edwin four.
“I think it was some jitters,” Kea said of her team’s slow start out of the gates. “I think the support was greatly appreciated by them, and appreciated to the point where they were a little nervous. We could feel it. But, once we settled in, I think it worked.
“We trusted our offense. We’ve been working on how to isolate our bigs in a zone, and I think we trusted it. It really sparked us,” Kea added. “And anytime we can score and get into our press, we are in a good position.”
Kris White had 18 points, Nasaun Parker 15 and Jojo McIver 12 for the Eagles (28-5, 11-2) in their 74-36 win over Waco on Friday night. They can grab the outright league championship with a victory Tuesday against Lake Belton.
D'Rayvion Starling and DJ Moore had 17 points, Jaymes Brown-Peterson 15 and Gregory Dumas 14 for the Shoemaker Grey Wolves (26-8, 10-3) as they trumped the Broncos 88-65 on Friday to stay in a three-way tie for second with University and Belton going into the season finale Tuesday. Shoemaker hosts Belton.
Also in boys basketball Friday, Harker Heights missed a chance to clinch the District 12-6A title, falling on the road to Pflugerville Weiss 60-46. The teams are now tied for first with one game left. Belton defeated Chaparral 56-40 and University topped Killeen.
Soccer
District 22-5A
The Killeen Lady Roos got a goal from Cherrice Jackson –– assisted by Samantha Garcia –– and a whopping 23 saves from Julissa Martinez during a 1-1 draw with Waco University.
The Ellison Lady Eagles picked up a road win over Waco, 3-2. Goal scorers there were Ava Nautu (2) and Alejandra Lopez Kelly.
The Chaparral Bobcats got goals from Adrian Suarez Cortes (two) and Blaze Hiapo in a 3-1 nod over Belton while Shoemaker used a goal by Joushua Narvaez Torres that was assisted by Jayden Reyes to edge Lake Belton 1-0, and Waco squeaked by Ellison 1-0.
District 12-6A
The Harker Heights Knights and Lady Knights each picked up a point against Temple. The Knights tied 2-2 and the Lady Knights drew 1-1.
