Polk County Sports

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Giselle Martinez passes to a teammate.

By Brian Besch
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Lady Hornet basketball used a big second quarter and good defense Tuesday to defeat Leggett 46-28 in Goodrich.

After a 6-6 tie to end the first quarter, Goodrich came out on fire. They started the second quarter with a 9-0 run in just 1:30 of clock. The Lady Hornet dominance would continue throughout the period, with an 18-4 eight minutes.

“They did a good job and I told them that we wanted to pull back and play a 2-3 zone,” Goodrich coach Pinellafie Johnson said. “The minute we did that, we just started watching rebounds. The rebounds came to us, but we didn’t go get them. We did offensively, but defensively, we did a lot of standing around waiting for the ball to come to us. We had to stay in the press in order to keep on top of the game. They did a good job with it. I told them that even though we are not placed in anything right now, you got to get out here and play just like you were playing for first place. I told them to not quit on themselves and finish the season. Hopefully, we can clean all that up for next year.”

Leggett scored six, four and five points in the first three quarters of the game to dig a 37-15 hole. However, they would fight back in the fourth, putting up 13 points and holding the Lady Hornets to nine.

Latrina Morgan led Goodrich and all scores with 20 points, while Bra’Niyah Wyatt had nine and Brianaly Resendez had seven. For Leggett, Bianca Perkins had eight, and Na’llah Jordan had seven.

“We have to be able to finish it and close it out,” Leggett coach Terri Barlow said. “We can’t worry about calls or little bumps on fouls. When you don’t get a foul call, you have to play through it. The referee will miss some. We have had our ups and downs. They are slowly getting it together now, so it took us the whole year. I told them that we are going to finish the year and I’m taking down everything and we are going to feed off of that for next year and be better.”

Leggett is 2-9 and out of the playoff picture for the 2023-24 season, and Goodrich is in fifth place, needing some help from other teams.

“The only way that we can get in is if Spurger loses, then we can tie for fourth, but we can’t get a place right now unless someone loses,” Johnson said.

Leggett’s final two games of the season are hosting Zavala Friday and at Brookeland. Goodrich will make the long trip to High Island Friday and host Spurger Tuesday.

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John Mendoza tries to dribble past a Pirate defender.

By Brian Besch
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Leggett basketball kept their chances for a district title alive with a 69-35 victory over rival Goodrich Tuesday on the south side of Polk County.

A hot start and plenty of defense gave Leggett an advantage they would keep throughout the contest. The Pirates’ 3-2 zone was too much for the young Hornets early. A 16-0 start for Leggett was mostly off turnovers, taking steal after steal for uncontested layups at the other end. 

“I didn’t have to do much but sit on the bench and let them play,” Terri Barlow said of coaching the boys in place of Ra’Shod Jefferson Tuesday. “They already know what to do, but we have to tighten up and not let our man dribble out up top. We have to put pressure on the ball. Their big man stepped out in the fourth quarter and if we put a little pressure on him, he will turn it over.”

Leggett accumulated 25 points in the opening period, but Goodrich stopped the bleeding in the second, battling their rivals to a 14-14 draw in that quarter. Yet, the Pirates began the second half much like the first, with an 18-4 run that effectively ended the competition.

“They have taken to the zone and don’t do a whole lot of press,” Barlow said. “We go to Brookeland next week and it will take determination. To me, they weren’t in the game (in the first round versus Brookeland) and weren’t playing strong.”

Leggett is in second place by a game, and a win next week over Brookeland would pull the two squads even.

Joshua Perkins was high point with 28 and Jace Railey had 17. For the Hornets, freshman Saul Guzman had 10, and John Mendoza and freshman Marquis Robinson had eight each.

Goodrich coach Lester King likes the team that is beginning to form from the baby bees. The team lacks experience, but has plenty of hustle and shows flashes of putting it together at times. There are no seniors and three freshmen on the team of eight.

“I have been told by other coaches that we are playing better team ball,” King said. “Leggett didn’t put 100 on us (as they did in the first round). We didn’t have anybody out there just jacking (shots). We are going to keep playing team ball, and like I tell them, if they will get in the gym and work this summer, we will be a much better team. In two quarters, we scored with them. In the fourth quarter, they outscored us 12-10 and in the second quarter it was 14-14. We just have to be more aggressive. We might slip up on somebody before this district is over.” 

Leggett has a game versus Zavala Friday, and will need to keep focused, because Tuesday’s match for the district lead with Brookeland will mean nothing if the Pirates do not take care of the Eagles beforehand.

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Harley Richardson throws up a shot as time expires.

By Brian Besch
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A night of Lady Pirate basketball – both Spurger and Leggett – saw Spurger take a large lead and Leggett work all game to play catch up. Though it would get close, Spurger escaped victorious with a 44-36 score.

Leggett was shut out of the first quarter at 14-0 and had trouble handling the basketball. Errant passes, problems dribbling and a stingy Spurger defense kept the ball on one half of the court. Leggett did not get off of a shot attempt for the final four minutes of the first period.

“We got a slow start in the first quarter, where we didn’t score any points,” Leggett coach Terri Barlow said. “In the second quarter, they came out and played. I am proud that at the end there, we fought and came back. We had a couple of turnovers and it changed the game. I told them in the locker room that I am proud of them for playing three quarters.”

The streak ended a minute into the second quarter. The home Lady Pirates did a better job of taking more high-percentage shots, cutting into the Spurger lead, but trailed at halftime 25-14. The team had picked up its pace a bit after such a lackluster showing through the first eight minutes.

“I guess I had to get that tech,” Barlow said of getting a technical foul in the second quarter. “I guess I had to get a tech to get them to start playing ball. We have had that pretty much all year. I talk to them every day and tell them that we are missing team chemistry and not playing team ball. It has been a struggle, but I still love my team. They have some good games, but some games are just like they don’t want to be there. I told him after the first quarter if they didn’t want to play this game, I could have called and forfeited.”

Leggett was a different team in the third quarter, hustling on defense and finding consistent scoring. Tamera Henderson heated up and was able to contribute 20 points for the contest.

With six minutes remaining in the game, Spurger held just a field goal lead at 33-31. The difference would again be cut down to two with four and a half minutes to play, yet Leggett could never even the score.

Following Henderson in scoring for the home team was Cheyanne Simons with eight, while Na’llah Jordan, Dixie Hopson, Madyson Burr and Harley Richardson also added points.
Polk County’s Lady Pirates have a lot of work to do to get into contention for the postseason. They are currently 2-6. Brookeland leads the district, while Zavala, Spurger and Chester are fighting to get into the playoffs.

“We can compete, but we’ve just got to be able to come out and play ball for four good quarters,” Barlow said. “We can compete with anybody, it is just the will and wanting to do it.”

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Joh’Vonn Scott gets the bucket and foul from a flying defender.

By Brian Besch
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Leggett basketball did what was needed to maintain second place in district Tuesday night, with a 63-47 win over Spurger in Dudley Dickens Gym.

The Pirates of Polk County did a good job of finding open teammates when buckets were made, but did not rebound or get to the loose ball with the quickness that Spurger showed. Joh’Vonn Scott led the team with eight points through two quarters. While Leggett did not play bad basketball in the first half, it did not live up to Coach Ra’Shod Jefferson’s standard for a squad making a playoff run. At the half, it was a tie game.

“We didn’t start off with the momentum that we normally start with,” Jefferson said. “It was fairly slow and they didn’t get out and play like I wanted them to in the first half. We had 20 something points in the first half (23), when we usually have that in the first quarter.

“We weren’t hustling to any loose balls on the defensive end and we weren’t crashing the boards. We were watching rebounds instead of going to it. Even though I want them to have confidence and faith in teammates and that every time that we are going to shoot we are going to score, we still have to go in and crash the boards. I went in and told them at halftime that if you keep playing like this, it will be hard to come out with a victory. If you want to win, wake up and play ball. We need to play our game.”

The final two quarters put the home crowd at ease. Leggett’s Joshua Perkins had 16 points and Jace Railey had just one less in the second half alone. Intensity picked up, especially on the defensive end of the floor. Leggett will still need to find more of an inside presence, especially once they reach the playoff bracket.

Perkins led the team with 23 points, Railey had 18, Scott 13 and Gavin Nichols eight.

The win puts Leggett at 7-1, trailing only Brookeland in district play by a game. Spurger and High Island are behind the Pirates, fighting for the final playoff spots.

“Last Friday, we played against Chester and the kids played a good game,” Jefferson said of the team’s recent 36-point win. “Everybody hustled and everybody played team ball. Today, we didn’t share the ball like I wanted them to share it. If we will wake up and play like we did in the first half of district, we won’t have any problems coming out on top.”

High Island is next on the schedule Friday, then a trip to rival Goodrich is Tuesday. Leggett will need to continue winning to control their own destiny. A road game at district leader Brookeland that could decide it is just two weeks away.