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(ALEX KIELAR | BRECKENRIDGE AMERICAN) Kenzie King lines up a shot Tuesday, Feb. 18 at the free throw line. The Ladycats achieved another victory Tuesday and moved to the regional finals Friday, Feb. 21. -
(ALEX KIELAR | BRECKENRIDGE AMERICAN) The Ladycats pose with their trophy as they celebrate being named the regional semi-final champions after their Tuesday, Feb. 18 win over May.
The Newcastle Ladycats are one step closer to reaching the state level after their 51-22 win over the May Lady Tigers.
The teams did not have to travel far, with the two meeting Tuesday, Feb. 18 at Breckenridge High School. Both teams had previously met during the regular season in November, with the Ladycats coming away with a 61-27 win in that game.
Ladycats head coach Ryan Dollar said the victory Tuesday was another one showing off the strength of unity seen on the team.
“We are just doing this together,” Dollar said. “We have girls that score the ball. We have girls that defend like nobody's business. We have girls that distribute the ball. We have girls that are fully engaged in the game from the bench and cheering on their teammates. We preach ‘team’ and we are bought into it.”
Newcastle saw success early Tuesday by holding the Lady Tigers to only five points in the first quarter and scoring 11 points on 2-point shots from Camren Mallory and Mattie Dollar and made free throws from Kenzie King, Kenna Mahan and Dollar.
While the Lady Tigers managed another eight points in the second quarter, the Ladycats team brought the same determination shown all season and put 17 points on the board. Eleven of those points came from two 3-point shots and five made free throws from Dollar.
With a 15 point lead moving into the second half of the game, the determination of the team did not stop there.
The Lady Tigers were held to only three points in the third quarter while the Ladycats scored another 14 with the help of Evie May, King, Mahan and Dollar. While things were not decided in the second quarter, the third quarter pushed Newcastle’s lead to 26 points.
Six points was all May had in the last quarter with Newcastle continuing its dominance across the court by scoring another nine points, due to shots from Rae’lyn Bennett, King, Dollar and Terrell bringing the win for the Ladycats.
Leading in scoring for the Ladycats was Dollar with 25 points, followed by Mallory with eight points, King with six points, Terrell with four points, Mahan and May with three points and Youngblood with two points.
“It's an honor to coach these girls. They are like my daughters. We don't always see eye to eye, but we always do what we do for each other,” coach Dollar said. “We have a motto this year 'TWPFHG.' I can't tell you just yet what that stands for, but it holds true each and every day.”
The regional finals game against the Neches Lady Tigers will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21 at Cleburne High School. Coach Dollar said the Neches matchup will be a battle across the court.
“They have played at the state tourney the past four years in a row so they have the itch to get back as well,” he said. “We are working on controlling the game on both ends of the floor. Matchups will be tough as they have big, great ball handlers and shooters. We are going to have to be on our game with energy and effort.”
If the Ladycats pull away with a victory over Neches, they will move onto the state semifinals game which will take place either Monday, Feb. 24 or Tuesday, Feb. 25 against the winner of the Feb. 21 matchup between Broaddus and Brookeland.
