Sports

Home games are not truly home games for two Graham High School students this year. Two Graham High School juniors are staying in Graham for the  school year as foreign exchange students. Sofie Uhlir and Svea Johansson, both from Stockholm, Sweden have moved to Graham and are participating in athletics while in the city.

Uhlir, a member of the junior varsity Lady Blues basketball team, had not played basketball before coming to Graham and has picked up the sport rather quickly.

The Lady Blues closed the 2021 district schedule in blowout fashion Friday night at Graham High School.  By outscoring Mineral Wells by double digits in three quarters, the Lady Blues celebrated a 72-31 senior night victory over the visiting Lady Rams.

There was little resistance shown from the Lady Rams from the start. With a 20-1 run from the Lady Blues out of the tip, the Lady Blues nearly topped their visitors’ four-quarter scoring output in the first eight minutes. Hannah Isom, Maddie Mandela, Leah Holland and Kate Gober all scored points in the opening run.

All four playoff spots in 5-4A have been accounted for and the battle for seeds 2-4 is underway. The Steers improved positioning in third place Friday night with a 69-42 win on senior night Friday at Graham High School. The win followed the Lady Blues 72-31 win earlier in the evening.

Hirschi has already clinched the district championship. This leaves Burkburnett, Graham and Iowa Park to battle for seeding when the playoffs begin in less than two weeks.

The Lady Blues faced little resistance clearing the final obstacle during their quest for a second-straight outright district championship. Hannah Isom anchored the defense while Kate Gober and Maddie Mandela led the Lady Blues to a championship-clinching 59-36 win in Vernon on Tuesday night.

The Lady Blues checked one of two boxes from their season checklist Friday night. The team entered the season with two goals: playoffs and a district championship. After a 40-31 win the Lady Blues have earned a spot in the postseason and sit one win away from a district championship.

When the Lady Blues and Lady Huskies meet fans know to expect a tough, close and physical game. The physicality was on display from the opening minutes as Kate Gober and Chloe Percy crashed to the floor battling for a rebound on the Lady Blues’ end of the court.

The Lady Blues are one step closer to the playoffs and a second consecutive district championship. It did not always look pretty after they walked away with a 35-33 victory at Iowa Park Tuesday night.

What ended up as a low-scoring defensive affair started fast-paced. After giving up the game’s opening basket, the Lady Blues jumped ahead via a 9-3 run. Katie Coyac scored all five of her points in the 90-second run. Kate Gober added four more via the free-throw line.

Javier Leija set the tone from the post in a career game. His breakout performance aided the Steers in an 85-78 win.

Burkburnett is a team that shoots in a large volume. A majority of those shots come from behind the arc. The Bulldogs opened the game with two 3-pointers before the Steers went on their first run of the game.

The Graham Steers celebrated a largely successful 2020 football season Monday night at Graham High School. The team gathered one last time for a year-end celebration banquet and to receive medals awarded as state semi-finalists.

The Lady Blues do not always shoot the ball well. When they are hitting shots, they can be the most dangerous team in the district. Sparked by a trio of 3-pointers by Kate Gober, the Lady Blues extended their district unbeaten streak with a 62-26 win at Mineral Wells Tuesday night.

Mineral Wells looked to keep the game close with a slow pace early in the game. The strategy worked for four minutes as the Lady Blues were held to two field goals and were tied 4-4.

Perfect is the record the Lady Blues have as they have nearly reached the midway point in their district schedule. Near-perfect is how you could describe the way the Lady Blues improved to 4-0 in district play after defeating Vernon 55-31 Friday night at Graham High School.

After Maddie Mandela and Addison Spencer traded baskets to open the game, the Lady Blues finished the opening quarter on a 15-5 scoring run. Defense and rebounding sparked the run.