Moran girls split last 2 outings
By Sam Waller
The Moran Lady Bulldogs split their two outings last week, while the Bulldogs boys team tipped off its basketball season.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Lady Bulldogs dropped a 30-24 decision to Blanket, but bounced back to beat Mullin 43-13 on Friday, Nov. 18, for their first win of the season.
Also on Friday, the boys lost to Mullin 37-27.
All games were played at Moran.
A scheduled doubleheader against Bryson on Monday, Nov. 21 was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict, Moran athletic director and girls coach John Hughes said. Both boys and girls teams will return to action Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Paint Rock before hosting the Moran Holiday Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 1-3.
Girls Basketball
Moran checked one thing off the to-do list by notching its first win of the season early.
“We got the win out of the way before we went into Thanksgiving break,” Hughes said. “That makes everything easier.”
Over the first three games, the Lady Bulldogs have gone from a loss by a large margin to a close game to a win.
“We’re just making steady progress,” Hughes said. “That’s the key to being successful.”
The Lady Bulldogs (1-2)were unable to overcome Blanket’s second-quarter surge on Nov. 15. Tied 3-3 after the first quarter, Blanket took a 15-7 halftime lead and held on in the second half.
Alli Scott led Moran with nine points, while Emily Murk and Samantha Hinkle scored six each. Alyssa Allred added three points.
Allred grabbed 24 rebounds with Hinkle getting eight and Murk seven. Scott added two assists and seven steals.
Against Mullin, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 22-2 halftime advantage, but Hughes said the level of play wasn’t up to his expectations.
“We were not very focused and didn’t play very well,” he said. “We played down to the level of the competition we were facing. A little heart-to-heart talk at halftime got it straightened out.”
Allred led Moran with 19 points and 22 rebounds with Murk adding 14, hitting three 3-pointers, and 14 rebounds. Both also made four assists apiece. Kacenda Thompkins added four points with LeAnna Sikes, Neveah Huskey, and Hinkle scoring two apiece. Hinkle had 10 rebounds with Huskey getting five steals.
Boys Basketball
The Bulldogs stayed within single digits most of the way before both teams heated up in the fourth quarter.
Mullin led 6-2 after the first quarter, but Moran closed to within 11-10 at halftime. Mullin took a 19-13 edge into the fourth quarter before outscoring the Bulldogs 18-14 over the last eight minutes.
Ellis Hise led Moran with 11 points, followed by Connor Hail with six. Cotten Campbell and Caleb York each scored four points with Zech Henderson adding two.
Mullin’s Wyatt Stevens scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, hitting four 3-pointers.
Tournament Time
For the first time in at least seven years, Moran will conduct boys and girls divisions at its tournament with eight games each day starting at 9:00 a.m.
In addition to the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs, teams from Ranger, Abilene TLCA, Paint Creek, Brookesmith, Blanket, Strawn, and Trent will compete. Each team will play three games.
The girls championship game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Dec. 3, with the boys title game at 7:30 p.m.
Hughes said Moran students, faculty, and staff are pitching in to help make the tournament run smoothly.
“The players are going to be helping,” he said. “A lot of our staff is volunteering to help with things like the hospitality room, so we’ve got it pretty well covered.”
