Sports
Lady Wolves stumble against Bushland, Canadian
Games marked by questionable officiating
BY BILL KELLY
Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Lady Wolves took on their two toughest district opponents last week, traveling to Bushland on Tuesday January 20 and playing Canadian at home on Thursday January 22. Dalhart lost by two to Bushland and three to Canadian, with very controversial officiating possibly making a difference in both games.
The Lady Wolves led the first half against Bushland. Kammi Maddox knocked down a three and led Dalhart with five points in the first period. Arianna Chacon also hit a three, and Joie Read added two points. Dalhart held a 10-7 lead after one period.
Dalhart expanded the lead in the second quarter, outscoring Bushland by two. Five different Dalhart players scored during the second. Maddox led the team with five points. Avi Day and Read each put in a three-pointer, and Aubree Ramirez and Chacon added two points apiece. At halftime the score was 25- 20 in favor of Dalhart.
Bushland took the lead by the end of the third quarter, putting 18 points on the scoreboard while the Lady Wolves scored seven. Chacon hit one more three, and Maddox and Read each scored two points during the stanza. Bushland led 38-32 when the buzzer ended the third period.
Dalhart was able to close the gap in the fourth quarter, but a last-second halfcourt shot just barely missed at the end of the game. Read and Maddox each scored six points during the final period. Kaetlin Sundvahl added three points off an old-fashioned three-point play, and Chacon scored two points. The Lady Wolves were given six fouls during the fourth, while Bushland only had two, and one of Dalhart’s fouls was an offensive foul away from the ball, something you don’t normally see, especially in the final period.
Dalhart fouled on purpose to stop the clock at the end of the game, and the Lady Falcons only hit the second free throw to put Bushland up by two. Maddox threw the ball into Read, who threw it to Sundvahl a couple of feet in front of the halfcourt line. Sundvahl put the ball up right before the buzzer sounded, and the ball banked off the backboard and hit the rim before bouncing off, just an inch or so from falling through. Bushland won the game 51-49. Maddox led Dalhart with 18 points, Read scored 13, and Chacon added 10 points.
The game against Canadian was moved up a day to Thursday due to the weather. Once again, the Lady Wolves took an early lead. Chacon nailed a three and led with five points in the first quarter. Ramirez also hit a three, and Maddox scored three points as well while Read added two points. Dalhart led 13-10 when the first came to a close.
The game became increasingly physical as it went on, with Canadian being called for five fouls in the second quarter, although a number of fouls were probably missed. Read scored five points in the second, with three coming from free throws as she was continuously fouled in the lane. Sundvahl scored two points, and Ramirez also hit a free throw. Dalhart’s lead was 21-16 at halftime.
Canadian was able to tie the score by the end of the third quarter. Maddox picked up two charging fouls, which is somewhat unusual, and had to sit out much of the quarter. With just under a minute left in the quarter, Day was going for a layup when she was hit in the head on an attempted block. No foul was called on that play, despite Day having leave the game to put ice on her head and never returning. A foul was called on the next play as Read attempted a layup on the inbounds play, in what was clearly a makeup call. Read hit one of the free throws, and Chacon ended up with five points in the third, including a three-pointer. The score was tied 27-27 as the third period ended.
Canadian was able to outscore Dalhart by three in the fourth quarter to win the game. Canadian scored nine points in quick succession to take a 10-point lead at one point, but the Lady Wolves fought back, with Read hitting a couple of free throws and Chacon hitting a jump shot to cut it to six. Canadian scored again, but Sundvahl answered with a layup. Maddox grabbed the ball off a Sundvahl deflection on the next Canadian possession, and Sundvahl ended up rebounding a miss and putting it back in to cut the lead to four points.
A little later, Maddox rebounded the ball and put it back in, but was called for her fourth foul, another charge. Considering how many players were fighting for the rebound, and that the video shows the Canadian player stepping directly into Maddox’s path right before the shot, the call was very questionable. If she did have position, it was only for a fraction of a second and most officials would not call a charge in that situation.
Sundvahl hit two free throws with just under a minute to cut the lead to four points again. Dalhart had to foul to stop the clock, and Canadian only hit one of the free throws to go back up by five. Canadian fouled Sundvahl on the next possession, and Sundvahl hit both free throws to cut the lead to three points. Canadian hit both free throws after the next foul, and Sundvahl grabbed a rebound off a missed three and seemed to be fouled right after, but was called for traveling as she fell to the floor.
The Lady Wolves ended up getting the ball back with 8.8 seconds remaining, and Sundvahl eventually hit a layup, but Canadian was able to just hold the ball out of bounds as time expired. Canadian won the game 47-44. Sundvahl came up big in the fourth, scoring 10 points to lead the team. Read added three points, and Ramirez and Chacon each scored two points.
Sundvahl and Chacon each scored 12 points to lead the Lady Wolves, and Read added 11 points.
In other district games on Tuesday, Canadian beat Tulia 45-20 and Childress defeated River Road 75- 18. In the other district games on Thursday, Childress beat Tulia 77-22 and Bushland beat River Road 80-5. At the time this article is being written, Bushland is 5-0, Canadian is 4-1, Dalhart is 3-2, Childress is 2-3, Tulia is 1-4, and River Road is 0-5.
The Lady Wolves were scheduled to start the second round of district play on Tuesday January 27, traveling to River Road to play the Lady Cats. Dalhart plays Tulia tomorrow, Friday January 30. Tulia doesn’t have a JV, so the varsity girls will play at 6:15 p.m. after the JV boys. The freshmen Lady Wolves are scheduled to play at White Deer tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Lady Wolves will make the long trip to Childress next Tuesday, February 3, with the JV playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity following at 6:15 p.m.
Female Athlete of the Week
BY BILL KELLY
Dalhart Texan
The Dalhart Federal Savings & Loan Female Athlete of the Week is Amarissah Johnson. Johnson is a junior on the Texline Lady Tornadoes basketball team, and this is her first time to be named athlete of the week this year, although she has been named in previous years as well.
Johnson has been on varsity as a starter since she was a freshman, and has become a bigger scoring threat as she has gained experience. She is a very good long-range shooter, and if she ever gets hot from the three-point line she can score a lot of points in a hurry. Johnson also helps run the offense, helping teammates score, and she helps on defense as well.
Johnson played well last week for the Lady Tornadoes. She scored three points against Wildorado, all in the second half as Texline won by a score of 49-41. Johnson played even better in Texline’s homecoming win over Hartley. She scored 14 points in the game, which was second on the team, with eight points coming in the first quarter as Texline built a lead. Johnson also helped on defense and with rebounding, although the exact stats were unavailable.
Texline is undefeated through the first round of district play, and should win the district title. If Johnson and her teammates continue playing well, another deep playoff run is a possibility in February.
Honorable Mention:
Kaetlin Sundvahl: Dalhart basketball. Sundvahl is a junior and has been named athlete of the week twice this year, once for volleyball and once for basketball. Sundvahl played well in Dalhart’s games last week. While she only had three points against Bushland, all three were in the fourth quarter on an old-fashioned three-point play, and helped keep the Lady Wolves close. Sundvahl also just barely missed what would have been the winning shot from beyond half court. She came up even bigger against Canadian. With Canadian focusing on Dalhart’s usual scorers, Sundvahl scored 12 points overall to tie for the team lead, with 10 of those coming in the fourth quarter as she tried to keep the Lady Wolves in the game.
Jada Clay: Texline basketball. Clay is a junior and was named athlete of the week a couple of weeks ago. She scored 23 points against Wildorado last Tuesday and 16 points against Hartley last Thursday, leading the team in both games.
Elia Alonso: Hartley basketball. Alonso is a junior and was named athlete of the week earlier in the season. She scored 19 points against Boys Ranch last Tuesday, and had nine rebounds, four steals and three assists. Alonso had 15 points against Texline on January 22, leading the team.
Arianna Chacon: Dalhart basketball. Chacon is a senior and was named athlete of the week last week. She scored 10 points against Bushland on January 20, and had 12 points against Canadian on January 22.
Savannah Perez: Hartley basketball. Perez was named athlete of the week earlier in the season. She scored 20 points to lead Hartley against Boys Ranch last Tuesday, and had three rebounds, three steals and three assists.
