Sandiettes Cage Lady Tigers, 61-41

Grapeland Remains Unbeaten in District 20-2A

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

CENTERVILLE – In a battle of ranked teams, the #12 Grapeland Sandiettes traveled to Centerville to take on the #14 Lady Tigers on Tuesday, Jan. 8.

What looked to be a tough matchup for the Sandiettes on paper, turned into a laugher on the court, as Grapeland jumped out to a double digit lead in the first quarter and then coasted to a 61-41 win.

Just like last year, the Lady Tigers were overrated and it quickly showed up on the court. Ragan Bowie knocked down eight from outside and when Bowie wasn’t draining threes, Teira Jones was working the inside for six points. Tatiyanna Bowie dropped in three, KeKe Harris added two and Hannah Chipman had one as the Sandiettes opened up a 20-7 lead by the end of the first eight minutes of play.

The first quarter Centerville points came from Hannah Matthews with four, Averi Hancock with two and Brittany West with one.

As the second quarter began, the Lady Tigers knew they were in trouble and tried to launch a comeback. The comeback bid, however, only shaved two points off of the 13 point deficit.

Jones was too much for Centerville to handle as she added five more to her total. Chipman netted four and R. Bowie had two as the Sandiettes took a 31-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Hancock scored five second quarter points for the Lady Tigers while four other Centerville players – Matthews, B. West, Keyonna Holley and Shania West – all had two apiece to close out the Lady Tigers’ first half scoring.

Following the break, the Sandiettes continued to work the ball inside to Jones who burned Centerville for six more points. R. Bowie knocked down her third three-pointer of the game while both T. Bowie and Chipman added two apiece to give Grapeland a 44-32 lead after three.

Centerville’s points came from Matthews and B. West with three apiece as Hancock, Holley and Kinsey Hardee all had two.

The comeback bid started by Centerville in the second quarter fizzled out in the fourth as Grapeland proved to be too much for the Lady Tigers. Chipman and Jones both dropped in six while Harris added five to close out the game and give the Sandiettes the 61-41 win.

The Lady Tigers’ fourth quarter points came from B. West with five as both Holley and Matthews had two.

On the game, Centerville was led in scoring by the duo of Hannah Matthews and Brittany West, with 11 points apiece. Averi Hancock went for nine, Keyonna Holley added six and Kinsey Hardee, as well as Shania West, chipped in two apiece.

The Sandiettes were led by Teira Jones with a game-high 23 points. Both Ragan Bowie and Hannah Chipman dropped in 13, KeKe Harris had seven and Tatiyanna Bowie added five to round out the Grapeland point production.

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