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Hermleigh’s Brishaya Sneed looks to pass during Monday’s game against Dawson. -
Hermleigh’s Sandra Carr shoots over Dawson’s Tori Cruz during the first half of Monday’s Class 1A bi-district playoff game against Dawson. The Lady Cardinals won 60-35 and advanced to Thursday’s area game against Marfa in Rankin.
POST — A location change did not bother the Hermleigh Lady Cardinals Monday night.
The Lady Cardinals used a 25-7 run in the fourth quarter to defeat Dawson 60-35 in a Class 1A bi-district playoff game.
The game was scheduled to be played at Antelope Arena, but changed to an adjacent gym because of a water leak in the roof.
Hermleigh (25-2) snapped a two-game losing streak and will meet Marfa at 7 p.m. Thursday in an area round playoff game at Rankin High School.
“It took a while for us to get into the flow of the game,” Hermleigh head coach Grant Gooch said. “Once we adjusted and got into the second half, we started to wear them down. When you play a playoff team with good guards, we knew we had to stick with our game plan. I knew we would eventually break them down. The game began flowing more smoothly midway through the third quarter.”
The Lady Cardinals led 6-5 after the first quarter. Hermleigh held a 16-9 lead before the Lady Dragons cut the deficit to 19-16 at halftime.
The game was tied 27-27 late in the third quarter when Hermleigh began to take control. Kiki Gonzales made two field goals and Lillyan Digby’s field goal gave the Lady Cardinals the lead for good.
Hermleigh took a 35-28 lead into the fourth quarter. Hermleigh led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter.
Gonzales led Hermleigh with 15 points and Brishaya Sneed had 14 points. Kelsey Digby scored 10 points.
Kayla Davis led Dawson with 16 points.
Gooch credited his team’s depth for breaking the game open in the fourth quarter.
“The nice thing about this team is I can play any five players and they will attack the same way and at a similar speed,” Gooch said. “That has been one of our strengths all season.”
Hermleigh had a mild victory celebration following the win and talked with fans on the way to the dressing room after being presented the game trophy.
“This is a major accomplishment for the team, community and school district,” Gooch said. “This group of players take pride playing for their community and school. They help them to keep going through the tough games.”
Gooch said he never lost faith with the players following a two-game losing streak and could rebound in the playoffs.
“We knew after the Ira game that everything would be fine,” Gooch said. “We needed to play new teams and keep it rolling. The players responded with a playoff victory. They just want to keep playing. I want to coach this team as long as I can.”
Hermleigh 6 13 16 25—60
Dawson 5 11 12 7—35
Hermleigh scorers — Kiki Gonzales 15, Brishaya Sneed 14, Kelsey Digby 10, Morgan Digby 7, Aaliyah Sneed 5, Lillyan Digby 4, Sandra Carr 3, Amanda Long 2.
Dawson scorers — Kaylea Davis 16, Murissa Horton 8, Sarah Fleenor 4, Tori Cruz 4, Mika Davis 3.