Lady Cards advance to state semifinals
Published 10:53 am Monday, February 24, 2025
Kaylee Britten (5) of Bridge City pushes the ball up the court as she is guarded by Lady Longhorns defender Callee Villarreal (12) in the third quarter of Friday’s game.(Tommy Mann Jr./Special to the News)
Kennedy Campbell (12) drives the ball to the goal as Hamshire-Fannett defender Makenna Hancock (15) stands firm late in the fourth quarter of Friday’s game at Nederland High School.(Tommy Mann Jr./Special to the News)
Aubrey Small of Bridge City (3) guards Callee Villarreal (12) of Hamshire-Fannett during the second quarter of Friday’s Region III Finals.(Tommy Mann Jr./Special to the News)
The Bridge City Lady Cardinals pose with a banner declaring the team Class 4A Division 2 Region III Champions after a 42-38 victory over the Hamshire-Fannett Lady Longhorns on Friday night at Nederland High School.(Tommy Mann Jr./Special to the News)
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By Tommy Mann Jr.
The Orange Leader
NEDERLAND — The Lady Cardinals punched their ticket to the Class 4A Division 2 state semifinals this next week with a hard fought 42-38 victory over the Hamshire-Fannett Lady Longhorns in the Region III finals at Nederland High School on Friday night.
No. 10 state-ranked Bridge City beat No. 23 state-ranked Hamshire-Fannett by 19 points this past November, but this Lady Longhorns team had every intention of getting revenge against the Lady Cardinals as both teams battled for four quarters with the outcome seeming in doubt until the end.
Hamshire-Fannett jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead but the Lady Cards surged back to tie the game 6-6 and took its first lead of the game a moment later behind a short basket from Mia Sterling. Olivia Moore put the Lady Longhorns back ahead with basket and free throw to convert the three point play. The quarter ended with both teams tied 11-11.
The second quarter had a slower pace for much of the period, but the Lady Cardinals built a five-point lead, 19-14, and looked set to pull away until Moore got red-hot for Hamshire-Fannett and scored six straight points to the Lady Longhorns back ahead 20-19. With the quarter about to end, Kennedy Campbell drained a three-point shot to give BC a 22-20 lead at halftime.
Kaylee Britten helped extend the Bridge City lead as she scored six straight points, but the Lady Longhorns came roaring back as Moore converted another three-point play and Reese Speight tossed in four points to narrow the Lady Cards advantage to 31-30 at the end of the third quarter.
Both teams traded baskets for much of the period until Britten dropped in a basket to put the Lady Cards ahead, 39-36, with three minutes left. The Lady Longhorns closed the score to one point, but Sterling tossed in two free-throws for Bridge City to extend it to three points once again. The icing on the cake was an additional free throw by Aubrey Small to provide the final score of 42-38 for the Lady Cards victory.
Britten led Bridge City scorers with 14 points, while Campbell added another 12 points for the Lady Cards. Moore led Hamshire-Fannett with 18 points, while Speight tossed in an additional 14 points for the Lady Longhorns.
Bridge City (35-3) advances to the state semifinals and will now face the No. 11 state-ranked Cuero Lady Gobblers, the winner of Region IV, at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, at the Katy ISD Merrell Center.
