The Albany Lady Lions faced a challenging test last week in district play, when they traveled to Cisco on Tuesday, Jan. 13 to face the state’s No. 3-ranked team.
Albany fell 88-21, but head coach Ashlyn Bevel said the team showed positive development despite the loss.
The Lady Lions opened the second half of District 7-2A play by hosting Hawley on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
They came away with a 37-27 win, with details to be published next week.
What began as a crowded local leaderboard ended with a single winner after the final whistle of the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Five participants finished the bracket challenge tied after the first round, quarterfinals and semifinal games. Points were awarded for correctly picking the winner of each game, setting up a tight race heading into the title matchup.
The Albany Lions boys basketball team worked through a pair of difficult shooting nights last week but still came away with two district wins, defeating Haskell 62-50 on the road on Jan. 6 and Abilene TLCA 65-45 at home on Jan. 9.
At Haskell, Albany struggled to find any rhythm early, managing little offense through much of the first half before closing strong to pull within three at the break. The Lions then used a big third-quarter run to take control.
The Albany Lady Lions split district games last week, losing to Haskell and defeating TLCA.
They lost to Cisco on Tuesday night 21-88, with details to be published next week.
The girls will continue district play this week, hosting Anson on Friday, Jan. 16. The JV girls will tip off at 4 p.m., with the varsity girls scheduled to play following the JV boys at approximately 6:15 p.m.
Albany senior Tristan Howe was named the 2025 Big Country Blitz Class 2A Division II Defensive MVP after a dominant season in the trenches for the Lions.
Howe anchored Albany’s defense throughout the fall, consistently disrupting opposing offenses and setting the tone up front in what was another deep playoff run for the Lions.
Senior Calhan Fairchild was also recognized by the publication as one of the area’s offensive standouts, earning a spot on the Big Country Blitz offensive stars list.
The Albany Lions closed out the pre-district schedule with a perfect 4-0 showing at the Windthorst Tournament before opening district play with a hard-fought home win over Stamford, continuing a strong start to the 2025-26 season.
Albany defeated Vernon 64-56, Poolville 73-47, Archer City 83-40 and Bellevue 81-39 across the two-day tournament on Dec. 29-30, finishing as co-champions alongside Windthorst and Nocona. Coach Ryder Peacock said the unusual three-way tie was something he had never seen before.
The Albany Lady Lions traveled to Haskell on Tuesday, Jan. 6, for district basketball action.
The girls lost 21-52, with full results to be reported next week.
The Lady Lions secured their first district win of the season last Friday, Jan. 2, defeating Stamford with a strong defensive performance that head coach Ashlyn Bevel said set the tone for the night.
“Defense was what won that game,” Bevel said. “We knew going into it that we had to play tough defense to top off the win and that’s what we did. We held their best player to three points.”
The Albany Lions boys basketball team went 4-0 to win the Lingleville Tournament last week, highlighted by steady scoring and strong defensive pressure throughout the three-day stretch.
Albany opened Thursday with a 62-34 win over Olney, then returned Friday morning for an early start against Bluff Dale, followed by a second game later that day against Coleman. The Lions closed the tournament Saturday with an 86-18 win over Eastland.
Albany Lady Lions varsity and junior varsity teams were active on the court last week, highlighted by a varsity win over Munday.
The Lady Lions lost Tuesday’s game 36-51 at Hawley. Details will be reported next week.
Albany varsity lost to Aspermont 63-23 on Dec. 9 and then beat Munday 55-49 on Friday, Dec. 12.
Welcome to The Albany News College Football Playoff Pick ’Em Challenge! To enter, simply fill out your bracket and submit a photo of it by December 19 at 5:00 p.m. Entries may be emailed to news@thealbanynews.net, texted to (325) 238-6128, or dropped off at The Albany News office. Scoring is simple: every correct pick earns one point, and the contestant with the most points at the end wins. If there’s a tie, the tiebreaker will be the predicted final score of the National Championship game, with the closest prediction taking the prize.
