No. 1 Wall Stifles No. 2 Coahoma to Claim Region I Championship

BIG SPRING, TX — The No. 1 Wall Lady Hawks took another step towards hoisting a state championship trophy in the Regional Final against No. 2 Coahoma in Big Spring on Friday night. Despite a tight contest in the first two quarters, Wall proved too deadly on defense and pulled away in the second half. The Lady Hawks claimed the victory and the 3A Div II Region I Championship 56-42.

"The first half was not our best basketball," Head Coach Silas Crisler said after the win. "But at halftime, we made adjustments. This basketball team makes great adjustments. ... They are a 3rd quarter team. They come out ready to go, and again tonight that was the case."

The normally basket-happy Lady Hawks crawled out to a slow start, scoring only 19 first-half points. To the ladies' credit, Wall's defense made it tough for Coahoma to take advantage and carried a 19-17 lead into the break.

"It did not happen until the end of the 3rd quarter," Crisler continued. "But we ended up taking over that game."

In the 3rd, the shots that were not falling in the first half began to fall. Several Lady Hawks put points on the board as Wall grew their lead to nine points entering the 4th quarter.

In the 4th, key shots from Jewels Johnson and Brynlee Graves sealed the win. Johnson, who twisted her ankle on a defensive possession seconds prior, hit a three-point shot off of one leg to put the game out of reach for the Lady Hawks.

However, it was the discipline and free-throw shooting from senior shooting guard Kathrine Lewis that truly left no doubt. The Lady Hawks passed the ball all over the court in the 4th quarter and consumed time off the clock, before Lewis would inevitably be fouled over and over to put her on the line. Lewis made eight free throws in the 4th quarter to cap a total of 13 points for the evening.

Wall closed out Coahoma in the final minutes to claim victory, 56-42.

"We've been looking forward to this since August," Lewis said after the game. "It's surreal to be here with these girls. I love them and I could not ask for any better."

Johnson led the Lady Hawks in scoring on Friday with 14 points, followed close behind by Lewis with 13. Freshman Brynlee Graves and junior Kenzzie Covert both scored 10 points.

Next up, the Lady Hawks enter the state semifinal game. They will play No. 6 Paradise next Tuesday. The time and location of that matchup is still to be determined.