Crockett Wins Bi-District in a Wild One

Lady Bulldogs Hold Off Lady Devils, 43-41

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

LUFKIN – It was a game the Crockett Lady Bulldogs nearly let slip away. The Lady Bulldogs led the Central Heights Lady Devils by 10 at the start of the fourth quarter and seemed to have the game in hand.

The Lady Devils, however, mounted a furious comeback to tie the game at 41 with under a minute left to play in the Bi-District Championship. After the two teams traded possessions, Crockett’s Dea’Junique James dropped in two and the Lady Bulldogs were able to hold off the Lady Blue Devils by a score of 43-41.

The game started off like it was going to be a high scoring affair. The Lady Bulldogs dropped in 18 points while the Lady Devils had 14 after the first eight minutes of play.

Crockett was led by James with seven points while Tynaisha McKnight had four. Katelin Holmes knocked down a three while both De’Aveon Farris along with Jaida Lockhart had two.

The Lady Devils were led in scoring by Victoria Spencer with six points while Maelee Corman had five and Emily Durham had three.

While the first quarter was relatively high scoring, the second quarter slowed to a crawl. Farris led the way for Crockett with four points while D. James and Mercedes James had two apiece.

Central Heights didn’t fare any better. Taylor Chambers had five points and was joined by Spencer with two which made the halftime score 26-21.

After the break, the Lady Bulldogs showcased their defensive chops as they limited the Lady Devils to only five points from Spencer.

Crockett doubled up the Central Heights point production as they scored 10 in the third. McKnight had four while Holmes, D. James and Lockhart all had two points to make the score 36-26 with eight minutes left to play.

As the final quarter began, so did the Central Heights’ comeback bid. Spencer dropped in five while Chambers, Durham and Grace Haley all had three.

While the Lady Devils managed to tie things up, they were unable to get over the hump as D. James scored four and M. James had three to give Crockett the 43-41 win.

For the game, the Lady Devils were led by Victoria Spencer with 18 points. Taylor Chambers netted eight, Emily Durham had six, Maelee Corman had five, Grace Haley had three and Megan Arnold had one to close out the Lady Devils scoring.

The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by Dea’Junique James with 15 points. Tynaisha McKnight dropped in eight, Dae’Veon Farris had six, both Katelin Holmes along with Mercedes James had five and Jaida Lockhart had four to round out the Crockett scoring.

Next up for the Lady Bulldogs will be the Hitchcock Lady Bulldogs in the Area Round of the playoffs. The game will be played Friday, Feb. 16 at the Conroe High School Gymnasium in Conroe. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].