Abilene Cooper   Ballinger   Killeen Tournament   Odessa High  Odessa Permian  Midland Greenwood Tournament
Midland Lee  Lubbock Coronado  Midland Greenwood  Amarillo High  Lubbock High  Copperas Cove Tournament
Amarillo Tascosa  Midland High  Lubbock Monterey  Odessa High  Lubbock High  *Midland Lee Lubbock Coronado
                          Odessa Permian  Amarillo High  Midland High  Amarillo Tascosa  Lubbock Monterey

Lady Cats down Lady Rebels, boost playoff hopes

The Central High School Lady Bobcats kept their playoff hopes alive Tuesday night, winning their third straight District 2-5A basketball game against the Midland Lee Lady Rebels 46-38.

The Lady Cats led from the outset and built a lead as high as 13 points before the Lady Rebels rallied in the second half and had the margin down to a single point at 39-38 with 2:19 to play.

Down the stretch, 5-foot-10 sophomore Ashley Fitzpatrick scored twice inside while senior Rachael Robinson and junior Mercedes Lopez combined on three free throws as Central closed with a 7-0 run to avenge an earlier loss to Midland Lee.

Robinson got things started with a 3-pointer in the first minute for a quick 3-0 Lady Cats' lead that grew to a 10-2 advantage by the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Cats' defense limited the Lady Rebels' open-shot opportunities. When Midland Lee did manage a shot, the Lady Cats continually came away with the rebound.

In their previous matchup Central won the battle of the glass 44-21 and their inside dominance continued in their second meeting.

Central extended their lead to 23-10 at the 1:34 mark of the second quarter and took a 25-13 advantage into halftime.

Lopez led the way, scoring nine of her 10 points in the first half while Shay Warren added eight points prior to the break.

Early in the third quarter Central held a 13-point, 29-16 edge before Midland Lee began to heat things up. LaQuisha Harris scored seven points in the quarter for Lee as the Rebels trailed just 31-27 heading into the final 8:00.

Central pushed its lead to seven points at 38-31 with 4:35 to play on a Warren put-back, but then Harris hit a runner with 2:19 remaining to make it 39-38.

Central coach Jan Wakefield called a timeout and her troops regrouped, setting up their final 7-0 run.

Warren led all scorers with 16 points.

"I think our inside game was awesome tonight," Warren said. "Everyone was really connecting well.

"We did well getting inside and finishing and when it wasn't there, we did a good job getting it back outside to the open shooter," Warrensaid.

"We really played well together as a team tonight," the junior said.

"This game was huge for us," Wakefield said. "We're right in the middle of the pack in the standings and if we have any chance of making the playoffs we really needed this one."

The Lady Cats have games against the district's top two teams in Lubbock Coronado and Midland High remaining. "But we also have head to head against Monterey and Tascosa," Wakefield said.

The Plainsmen and Rebels are just ahead of the Lady Cats in the standings for the third and fourth playoff berths.

"We have our fate in our own hands so we have to be sure we take care of our business every game," the coach said.

Central 46, Midland Lee 38