Christoval Lady Cougars Emerge Victorious Against District Rival Ozona Lady Lions

OZONA— The Ozona Lady Lions took on the Christoval Lady Cougars tonight and Christoval had to travel to the Lion’s Den for the district matchup between two of the heavyweights in the Concho Valley.

Both of these teams returned a most of, if not all, their starters and most of their team from last year. They were both incredibly young teams last season, and both are now playing with new head coaches.  The Lady Cougars being led by Brad Blalock and the Lady Lions are now led by Steve Scott.

The Lady Cougars came out strong in the first quarter, putting up 15 points on the scoreboard in large part due to Halle Hughes and Madyson George. Hughes added seven points, George threw up four, Jordyn Walker sank two two-point shots.

Ozona came out hot as well, putting up a solid 10 points. Vale Garza took the lead with eight points and Avery Davidson added two to the total. After one, the Lady Cougars were up five points, 15-10.

Consistency was the name of the first half, with Christoval adding 12 points and the Lady Lions adding 11. Banging around under the basket, Braylee Silva put up four points then added two from the free throw line. Hughes and George would combine for six points.

Ozona hit two three-point shots, one each from Davidson and Jaylynn Tijerina. Garza, Kelyn Gass, and Alondra Garza added two, two, and one point respectively before the half.

Going in for halftime, the Lady Cougars enjoyed a six-point lead over the Lady Lions, 27-21.

In the third quarter, the Lady Cougars would extend their lead with Hughes going off with nine points, including a three-pointer, and George hitting a three. The Lady Lions only put up five points in the third, Tijerina, Davidson, and Gass would hit two, two, and one respectively.

Now Christoval had a commanding lead, 39-26, heading into the final quarter, where fate decided to make things a little interesting.

The third quarter script would flip in the fourth, and the Lady Lions would close the lead, thanks to the duo of Gass and Garza. Gass would hit two free throws and three two-point shots where Garza sank two three-pointers and a two-point shot.

It would not however, be enough to overtake the lead from the Lady Cougars, as, even though Cougar fans probably leaned forward in their seats a little, had George and Hughes add six combined points to their total.

The Lady Cougars leave the Lion’s Den with a "W", 45-41 in a hard-fought battle and have earned first place at the top their district standings. Christoval is defending their homecourt on Friday, January 5, 2024, and the Lady Lions travel to Sterling City to take on the Lady Eagles that same day.

SCORING (CHS – OHS)

• 1st- 15-10
• 2nd- 12-11 (27-21)
• 3rd- 12-5 (39-26)
• 4th- 6-16 (45-41)

CHS: Hughes- 20, George- 15, Silva- 6, Walker- 4

• 3-Point Shots: Hughes-2, George-1

OHS: Vale Garza- 12, Gass- 11, Alondra Garza- 9, Davidson- 5, Tijerina- 5

• 3-Point Shots: Alondra Garza- 2, Vale Garza- 1, Davidson-1, Tijerina- 1