Like it has all season, the Jim Ned girls basketball team hung its hat on its defense Thursday against Childress.
POST — Like it has all season, the Jim Ned girls basketball team hung its hat on its defense Thursday against Childress.
After building a double-digit lead, the Lady Indians clamped down in the fourth quarter to top the Lady Bobcats 52-39 in an area playoff at Antelope Arena. The win sends sixth-ranked Jim Ned into the region quarterfinals.
"I thought our defense was really good," Jim Ned coach Hunter Cooley said. "And for the most part, our patience was good on offense. We were able to work the ball and make a few shots. We made a few, and they didn't. That was the difference. They're a really good ballclub."
The Lady Indians (30-5) led 40-28 when Grace Foster hit a shot to pull Childress within 10 with 6:08 remaining. The Lady Bobcats then went more than four minutes without scoring. Foster, who finished with a game-high 20 points, ended the drought with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 45-33, but Jim Ned controlled time of possession and made its free throws down the stretch.
The Lady Indians did a good job of protecting the paint, as well. Childress scored 46.2 percent (18) of its points from beyond the arc.
Childress (22-10) came out of the gates fast, taking an early 5-0 lead. The Lady Indians closed the opening frame on an 11-0 run to establish control. Jim Ned didn't trail after taking its first lead on a Libby Tutt drive with 3:55 in the quarter.
Foster scored with 6:34 before halftime to bring the Lady Bobcats within four, but that is as close as Childress got the rest of the way. Jim Ned freshman Claire Graham came off the bench to score five points in the final 1:34 of the half as the team led 28-18.
Ansley Steed made it a seven-point game (35-28) late in the third quarter, but the Lady Bobcats could not sustain any offense outside of Foster. The 6-foot sophomore scored more than half of Childress' points, and the next leading scorer was Addilyn Keys with seven.
"(Foster) is an outstanding player," Cooley said. "They've got a couple of really good shooters around her. We really tried to limit their opportunities, and if we could do that I liked our chances."
The Lady Indians, meanwhile, got contributions from all over. Five players scored at least seven, led by sophomore Alexis Espinosa with 14. Tutt and Brooke Galvin also hit double digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"We didn't use them all tonight," Cooley said of his roster. "Matchups forced us into some situations where we couldn't sub the way we wanted to. But depth is (an advantage). We're not five-deep. There's 16 of them sitting over here. Even those JV players, they get beat up on every day in practice, giving the varsity good looks.
"It takes all of them."
The victory sets up a rematch for Jim Ned. The only question is who its opponent will be. No. 14 Cisco (31-3) takes on Jacksboro on Friday, with the winner getting a chance to avenge an earlier loss. The Lady Indians beat Cisco 45-32 on Nov. 6 and Jacksboro 55-25 on Dec. 1.
"We played them both this year, and they're both really good," Cooley said of his potential opponents. "That's going to be a heck of game (Friday) night. We're just fortunate to get to play again."
JIM NED (30-5) - Jenna Moore 7, Alexis Espinosa 14, Libby Tutt 11, Claire Graham 7, Brooke Galvin 10, Malone Graham 3.
CHILDRESS (22-10) - Jaci Helm 2, Addilyn Keys 7, Khia Zuniga 6, Ansley Steed 4, Grace Foster 20.