ABILENE – Trailing 47-33 with 4:47 left in the fourth quarter Monday night, the Brownwood Lady Lions were on the verge of letting their Class 4A Region I bi-district playoff contest slip completely out of their grasp. But instead of folding, the Lady Lions almost achieved the improbable, trimming the deficit to a single bucket in the final minute before eventually succumbing to the Lubbock Estacado Lady Matadors, 55-52, at Abilene Christian University’s Moody Coliseum.
“They played hard,” Lady Lions head coach Heather Hohertz said. “The third quarter killed us but we dug ourselves out of that hole in the fourth. We were just a couple of buckets shy. I was proud of the effort and proud of them for not hanging their leads. If you’re going to go down, you have to go down swinging and our kids did that.”
Brownwood – which shot 37 percent (20 of 54) from floor – received 20 points from Hannah Deen, 14 from Trinity Roberts, seven from Icess Hall, six from Kimber Green, three from Kate Tindol and two points from Miranda Northcutt.
For Estacado, A’Lireyia Mitchell led the way with 11 points and Narriah Gomez had 10, followed by nine from Ashondra Johnson, eight from Ukiah Upshaw, and seven apiece from Addison Thomas and Tioan Duvall.
Leading 12-10 after one quarter and trailing just 20-18 at halftime, the District 6-4A third Lady Lions (20-13) fell victim to the offensive rebound prowess of Estacado (21-12), along with four of the Lady Matadors’ eight three-pointers as Brownwood faced a 40-27 deficit to start the final period.
Facing their largest deficit of 14 points, back-to-back buckets from Deen and Roberts shaved the deficit to 47-37 then, after an Estacado free throw, Deen scored again off a steal as the Lady Lions crept within single digits, 48-39, with 3:15 remaining.
Brownwood continued to slowly whittle away at Estacado’s lead as a pair of Hall free throws and another bucket from Deen further reduced the deficit to 52-47 at the 1:50 mark.
Trailing 53-48, Roberts’ short jumper in the lane shaved the Estacado lead down to a single possession, 53-50, with 29 seconds to go.
Down 54-50 with 19 seconds left, the Lady Lions were fouled on their next two possessions and sank two of four three throws – and 10 of 20 in the game – as Estacado’s lead shriveled to 54-52 with 13 seconds to go.
The ensuing possession for Estacado resulted in free throws with three seconds left, where the Lady Matadors sank the first and missed the second. Needing a three-quarter court heave to force overtime, Brownwood’s game-tying attempt sailed off target as the final buzzer sounded, ending the Lady Lions’ campaign.
“We found a way,” Hohertz said of the late rally. “We did what they did to us and got some offensive rebounds and found a way to get to the basket and finish. We missed that in the third quarter and that’s what hurt us. I was proud of them giving themselves a chance in the fourth quarter and that’s call you can ask.”
Monday’s game capped the careers for the Lady Lions’ two seniors, Green and Olivia Ringer.
“Ringer’s been a great teammate for four years,” Hohertz said. “She knew her role and supported her teammates no matter what position she was in, whether it was on the bench or on the court. She always gave 100 percent and that’s all you can ask for. She never complained and always knew her role.
“Kimber’s been a fire plug for four years, and when she’s on, she’s on. She’s going to be missed but those two are going to go on and do great things in the future and we’ve prepared them for that.”
Reflecting on the 2023-24 season, in which Hohertz surpassed 300 career victories, the Lady Lions head coach said, “It’s been a great year. This team’s been fun to coach, and it’s been fun going into the battle with them every day. I’m going to miss that. But we’ll take a month off or so and then start trying to rebuild and figure out what our plan is and direction is for next year. We’re going to enjoy the season we had, the 20 wins, and that we were a couple of buckets shy here in the bi-district game. But we’re still a young team and you have to build off this.”
Next up for Estacado is No. 7 Decatur (29-5) – an 88-4 bi-district winner over Wichita Falls Monday
***
Other Bi-District Playoff Finals
Coleman 43, Forsan 36
Goldthwaite 69, Sabinal 19
San Saba 75, Charlotte 29
Richland Springs 87, Gustine 11
Priddy 45, Brookesmith 29
Robert Lee 60, Santa Anna 30
