SAN ANGELO, TX -- When four girl's basketball teams from the Concho Valley step foot on the hardwood today at the regional tournament, it will be historic.
It's been five years since the Concho Valley has had four representatives in the regional tournament. Back in 2014, Mason, Menard, Garden City and Wall each advanced to the regional final, with the Lady Hawks claiming the state championship.
Now, Christoval, Mason, Veribest and Wall will look to have success at the regional tournament. Let's see what's gotten them to this point:
How They Got Here
No. 1 Wall (30-1)
The Lady Hawks have been on a sort of revenge tour in 2019 after an upset loss in double overtime to Lubbock Roosevelt last year.
So, Wall has won 30 games this season with wins over top-ranked programs and schools bigger than them. That was the plan entering the season, they wanted to face that competition to prepare for another deep run.
That eventually led to an average winning margin north of 50 points for the Lady Hawks en route to their 11th consecutive district title.
Their playoff run started much like the regular season ended, with a 91-8 win over Crane in the bi-district round. Then, Wall navigated foul trouble for a comfortable 53-41 win over no. 20 Canadian in the area round.
Wall was then put to one of their toughest tests against no. 8 Shallowater on Tuesday. The Lady Hawks led by two points in the final seconds of the game before Sawyer Lloyd nailed a pair of free throws to send Wall back to the regional tournament for the seventh time in eight years.
Now they get a gauntlet in the class 3A region I tournament with two teams ranked in the top 10 and a regional rival.
Wall will face Brock to open the tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.
No. 2 Mason (36-1)
The Cowgirls are the hottest team in the area. They're riding a 29-game winning streak and have cruised through region IV so far.
Mason has beaten their first three opponents in the playoffs by an average of 43 points.
The Cowgirls rode Ruby Mangus' hot hand for 17 points in their 67-22 win over Somerville on Tuesday.
Mason's charge this season has been much like Wall's. The Cowgirls lost to eventual state champ Martin's Mill in the state semifinals.
So, Mason set a tough schedule during non-district play to set up their run. That schedule included three games against class 6A foes at the Boerne ISD tournament. Mason outscored those opponents 154-81. They followed that with a 57-41 win over Boerne three days later.
Mason also made their undefeated run through district play look fairly easy. The Cowgirls outscored their district opponents 512-221 in eight games. Their closest result was a 36-33 win over San Saba, another team in the regional tournament.
They'll open with Shiner on Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in San Marcos
Christoval (25-10)
Christoval is making their first appearance in the regional tournament since 2016. They booked their place with a 50-33 win over Seagraves on Tuesday.
The Christoval Lady Cougars knew they had a good chance to fight for a spot in the class 2A region I tournament going into this season. They only graduated three seniors on a team that made a regional quarterfinal run last year.
However, all signs pointed toward a run in with no. 6-ranked Haskell. Seagraves upset Haskell in the area round, leaving the door wide open for the Lady Cougars. They took that opening and never looked back.
Defense has been the name of the game for Christoval this season. The Lady Cougars have held opponents under 30 points 11 times during their run. Two of those came in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.
Now, Christoval is set for a tough regional tournament with two top five-ranked teams making the trip to Levelland
Christoval opens with no. 5 Panhandle on Friday at 1:00 p.m.
Veribest (23-6)
The Veribest Lady Falcons are the Cinderella of the class 1A playoffs, there's no two ways about it.
The Lady Falcons hadn't made playoffs in over a decade and hadn't won a district championship in 17 years. That all went away almost as soon as Jim Eubank took over at the program looking for change.
As historic a season as it is, things haven't come easily for the Lady Falcons. They had a late start to their season after their volleyball team made a run to the regional quarterfinals. Despite that setback, the Lady Falcons have kept plugging away and making history.
Veribest got to the regional tournament after beating Blackwell a third time this season. Thanks to a pair of three-pointers late from Chloe Hererra, Veribest downed their district foe again, this time in front of a lively crowd at Angelo State University.
The road doesn't get any easier for the Lady Falcons. They enter the regional tournament as the only unranked team.
They open the regional tournament against no. 9 Hermleigh at 8:30 p.m. at Abilene Christian University. Hermleigh comfortably beat Veribest in the Lady Falcons' third game of the season.
Players to Watch
Sam Rocha, Sr., Forward, Wall
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Graci Jones, So. SG, Christoval
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Ruby Mangus, Sr., Post, Mason
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Kennadi Wheeless, Fr., SG, Veribest
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Want to keep up with the teams in the regional tournament? San Angelo LIVE! will have reporters at all four regional tournaments.
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