JH girls win, boys split first games

By Sam Waller

The Albany Junior High Cubs and Lady Cubs basketball teams opened their seasons Monday, Nov. 14, with games against Abilene Christian.

The teams will take on Cisco on Monday, Nov. 21 in their second outings. The girls will play at home with the White team tipping off at 4:00 p.m. The boys will play at Cisco with the seventh grade starting at 5:30 p.m.

In Monday’s boys games, played at Albany, the seventh grade won 30-25, while the eighth grade lost 29-19.

In girls games played at Abilene, the Lady Cubs White team won 26-10, while the Red team won 16-14.

BOYS

Seventh Grade

Albany’s seventh grade boys built a big enough lead through three quarters that they were able to hold on despite going scoreless in the fourth.

Clay Chapman led Albany with 11 points, followed by Aiden Vickers with eight, Jakobi Roberson with six, and Bennett Neece with five.

Vickers scored six points in the first quarter as the Cubs opened a 9-7 lead. Albany used a 13-4 edge in the second quarter to lead 22-11, then maintained the margin through the third quarter as both teams scored eight points.

Eighth Grade

The Cubs started fast, but cooled off as Abilene Christian took the lead in the second half.

Colter Edgar scored nine points, including a 3-pointer in the first quarter, to lead Albany. Zane Green added six points, with Wesley Gleitz scoring four.

Albany led 9-1 after the first quarter, but saw the lead cut to 9-8 by halftime. The Panthers went in front with a 14-4 edge in the third quarter to lead 22-13.

The game ended with a 29-19 Albany loss.

GIRLS

White Team

Charli Trail scored a game-high 15 points as the Lady Cubs White team opened their season with a win. Finlee Brown added nine points, and Leah Glick scored two.

“Getting a win was a good start to the season,” coach M.J. Reneau said. “The girls had fun and played hard. We have a lot to learn, and I can’t wait to see the improvement that will be made over the season. I was happy to see how aggressive we were defensively.”

Red Team

The Albany Red team held on as Abilene Christian outscored the Lady Cubs in each of the last three quarters.

Ashlyn Miller and Charlee Hefner each scored five points to lead Albany. Zayne Lefevre added four points, and Tatum Grady scored two.

“It was a great first game,” coach Jamie Wilson said. “We saw some really good things and definitely see lots of potential for this season.”

The Red team jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Abilene Christian cut the margin to 9-5 at halftime and 12-9 after three quarters. Miller and Grady each hit a basket in the fourth quarter to keep Albany in front.