Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 319.84
Water Temperature:
na degrees - top
50 degrees - bottom

Kaufman leads All-District girls basketball picks
Monitor Staff Reports
CRANDALL–Two Mabank players and one Kemp player were named to the District 13-3A All-District girls basketball squad by district coaches.
Loop champion Kaufman and runner-up Crandall dominated the top picks, as Kaufman senior Jasmine Hughey was named the Most Valuable Player and Lady Lion coach Mark Harris was the “Coach of the Year.”
Lady Lion sophomore Sammatha Offord was tapped as the “Sophomore of the Year,” while Crandall’s Emily Atkins was named the “Freshman of the Year.”
Crandall senior Sara Wood was the “Offensive Player of the Year,” while Kaufman senior Nikki Harris was the “Defensive Player of the Year.”
Mabank senior post Blaire Hyde and senior guard Emily Tucker were both named to the six-member first team.
Kemp senior wing Ashley Zellmer also garnered a first-team berth.
Joining them were Kaufman seniors Brittany Strempke and Lauren Perrin, and Crandall junior Emily Hargrove.
Two more Mabank players were named to the seven-member second team, senior post Shadia Rueb and junior wing Miranda Groom.
Eustace senior Alyson Harlan was named to the second team, along with Crandall’s Sarah Atkins and Kacie Byford, Kaufman’s Kaci Strother, and Ferris sophomore Marissa Koetting.
Eleven players were given honorable mention, led by four Kemp Lady Yellowjackets – senior Alex Valentine, junior Sarah Smith and sophomores Meagan Lacy and Ashley Darby.
Mabank juniors Kelsi Reynolds and Ashley Corter were named to the honorable mention list, along with Eustace senior Traci Garrett and Lady Bulldog sophomore Cassie Freeman.
Also named were Ferris seniors Natalie Tyner and Krystina Rodriguez, and Kaufman junior Allison Cahney.

Third time’s the charm
Kemp advances to regional tournament for first time with 47-45 OT win over Kaufman Lions
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
LANCASTER–Kemp’s Yellowjackets vaulted into the Region II tournament for the first time by outlasting the Kaufman Lions 47-45 in overtime.
The regional quarterfinals victory gave Kemp a 20-12 season mark and set up a third straight matchup against the Princeton Panthers at 2 p.m. Friday on the campus of Texas A&M University at Commerce.
Princeton has knocked the ’Jackets out of the playoffs in the quarterfinals round each of the last two years.
“Princeton is a very good, fundamentally sound basketball team that is well-coached,” Kemp head coach Tracy Carter noted. “Size and experience are their strengths.”
If the ’Jackets won Friday, they would face the winner of the Kennedale-Chapel Hill semifinal game in Commerce at 4 p.m. Saturday for the right to advance to the state tournament.
Tuesday’s matchup in Lancaster’s cavernous Tiger Coliseum was the third time Kemp had faced Kaufman’s Lions this season.
The teams split home-and-home games during District 13-3A play (Kemp’s only district loss came in Kaufman), and a huge crowd turned out for what figured to be a tight contest – the second game at Kemp went to overtime.
Kemp senior guard Joseph Simmons hit a 3-point basket to open the game, and two quick fast-break baskets by the ’Jackets (Kevin Freeman scoring on assists by Matt Brown) prompted a Kaufman time out with 2:20 to play and Kemp up 9-4.
The Lions came back with a 3-point basket and a put-back to end the second quarter trailing Kemp by three points, 11-8.
Lion senior post Josh Altman tied the score at 11 early in the second quarter, but neither team could generate much offense – all the Lions’ points came from the free throw line.
Kemp senior post Jacarri Culberson, who picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and had to hit the bench, came back to put together a three-point play and added a basket at the buzzer to give the ’Jackets a 19-16 halftime lead.
Strong defensive play continued in the second half, as Kaufman’s 6-9 senior post James Valladares racked up five blocks, but got no offensive rebounds and didn’t score much from inside the 3-point line against the 6-3 Brown’s defensive pressure and positioning.
Neither team was able to forge a lead larger than four points during the second half, and the deafening crowd stayed on its feet from mid-way through the third quarter on.
Kemp tried to pound the ball inside to Culberson, who hit to give the ’Jackets a 24-20 lead, but Valladares’ trey made it a one-point game again at 24-23, prompting a Kemp time out with 58.05 seconds left in the third.
Kaufman sophomore guard Ayron Miles drove for a layup after a Kemp turnover to leave Kemp up by one at the end of the third quarter, 27-26.
Valladares hit to put Kaufman in front for the first time in the second half, 28-27, and Lion freshman post J’Lil Herndon made it a three-point game, 30-27, but Simmons answered with a drive down the lane for a layup to make it a one-point game again.
Culberson’s free throws tied the score at 32 with 3:15 left in regulation, and both teams swapped baskets.
Miles scored to give the Lions a 36-34 lead with 1:37 left, and then hit the front end of a one-and-one to put the Lions up by three, 37-34, with about a minute left.
Altman missed the front end of a one-and-one with 45.36 seconds left, and Brown hit to make it a one-point game, 37-36, with 33.51 seconds to play.
Miles had opportunities to seal the game with free throws, but missed 4-of-6, and Culberson hit inside to tie the game at 38 with 4.33 seconds left in regulation.
Much of the overtime period was spent at the free throw line, as both teams picked up fouls (the Lions lost Herndon and the ’Jackets lost Brown during regulation).
The teams swapped steals, and Miles hit a pair of free throws to give the Lions a 43-42 lead with 1:06 left to play.
At that point, unheralded ’Jacket sub James Trim hit a 3-point basket to put Kemp ahead 45-43, but the Lions came right back to tie the score at 45 with 32.16 seconds to play.
Kemp went inside to Culberson. Valladares got his fifth block, but the ball bounced back to Culberson, who laid it in to put the ’Jackets up 47-45 with 9.05 left.
The Lions played for the final shot, but a 3-point basket bounced off, and Valladares’ put-back also bounced away before the final horn sounded.
“What a great high school basketball game!” Carter said afterward. “You hate seeing a team lose in a game like that, but our kids stepped up to every challenge.
“I am so proud of our kids. They battled their tails off – a total team effort,” he added. “Matt Brown played an outstanding game, especially holding down Valladares.”
Culberson finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Freeman finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Simmons wound up with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, while Trim finished with four points.
Brown had two points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Justin Gibson finished with two points, six assists and three steals.

Area Fishing Reports
ATHENS – Water clear, 49-56 degrees; 1.15 feet low. Black bass are good on black/blue jigs and plastic worms around man-made brushpiles close to docks. Crappie are fair on 1/16oz. jigs in 18-24 feet around heavy brush. Catfish are good on prepared baits fished over baited holes in 12-15 feet.
CEDAR CREEK – Water lightly stained; 50-57 degrees; 2 feet low. Black bass are fair on spinnerbaits over grass beds in 8-12 feet. White bass are good on chrome jigging spoons and white slabs on main lake humps. Hybrid striper are fair on 4-inch glow Sassy Shad under the birds. Crappie are good on tube jigs in 20-25 feet around heavy man-made brushpiles. Catfish are fair drift fishing with cut shad.
PALESTINE – Water fairly clear; 49-57 degrees; 0.12 foot high. Black bass are good on jigs and trick worms in 8-12 feet. Crappie fair on minnows and chartreuse/black jigs in 15-20 feet around standing timber and heavy submerged brush. Catfish are good on fresh cutbait along channels in 20-24 feet. White bass are fair on Road Runners along the river channel in the upper end of the lake. Hybrid striper are slow.
RICHLAND CHAMBERS – Water fairly clear; 49-58 degrees; 6.47 feet low. Black bass are slow to fair on Rat-L-Traps, Texas rigs and jigs. White bass are good on white or chartreuse slabs fished close to the bottom in 20-24 feet. Crappie are slow on minnows in 20-30 feet around heavy brush and timber. Catfish are good drift fishing with fresh shad in 15-20 feet around the 309 Flats.
TAWAKONI – Water stained; 50-57 degrees; 8.14 feet low. Black bass are fair on jigs and creature-type baits fished in 3-7 feet. Crappie are good on live minnows jigs in 12-18 feet. White bass are fair to good on white or chartreuse slabs fished close to the bottom. Striped bass and hybrid striper are fair on slabs and live shad. Catfish are good on fresh shad and prepared baits in 15-20 feet around points close to the mouth of creeks.
FORK – Water clear; 50-57 degrees; 3.26 feet low. Black bass are fair to good on red Rat-L-Traps and white/chartreuse spinnerbaits in 8 feet along main lake grass lines. The deeper bite (18-26 feet) is fair on drop shot rigs. Crappie are fair on minnows in 30-36 feet on the deep flats on the lower end of the lake. Catfish are fair on minnows and prepared baits in 20 feet.
NAVARRO MILLS – Water stained; 57 degrees; 7.73 feet low. Black bass are slow. White bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows. Channel and blue catfish are fair on live bait and cut bait. Yellow catfish are slow.
© Texas Parks and Wildlife Department



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