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Lake Info
Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet
above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is:
322.02 Water Temperature:
52 degrees - top
51 degrees - bottom
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Experienced Lady Panthers
ready for 15-4A
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
MABANK–Veteran experience and quickness, along with a much-improved
shooting touch, may give the Mabank Lady Panthers enough edge to contend
for a District 15-4A playoff spot this year.
The Lady Panthers open district play on the road at Lancaster Tuesday,
Dec. 15, and then will return home to host third-ranked West Mesquite
Friday, Dec. 18. Both evenings open with 6 p.m. sub-varsity contests.
Second-year Lady Panthers head coach Cody Christenberry welcomes seven
players back from last year’s squad, including five who started at some
point during the season.
“We’re experienced,” Christenberry said. “We have three seniors with a
lot of varsity experience, but only one junior with varsity experience.
“We have three sophomores with varsity experience, and one freshman who
has come in and has been a good contributor right off,” he added.
Senior forward Jeanice Mojica came up to the varsity level as a freshman
late in the season, while senior guard Ashley Hammack was a part-time
starter and sixth man last year, and saw a lot of playing time as a
sophomore.
Senior Chelsea Alldredge also started last year, and has clearly modeled
her defense and offense along the lines of now-departed guard Chelsey
Dillon, who is starting for Southwest Oklahoma State University as a
freshman this year.
Junior guard Sara Springer also started as a freshman, having been
brought up early in the season following a career-ending knee injury to
Miranda Groom and a shoulder injury to Kelsie Reynolds, both 2008
graduates.
Springer and Hammack both started at times, and alternated as sixth men
last year, Christenberry said.
Another freshman starter, guard Ashton Norman, is back for her sophomore
season, and she is joined by two sophomores who both got quite a bit of
playing time last year, post Cheyenne Alldredge and 6-2 post Olivia
Pannell.
They are joined by three players off the junior varsity, senior guard
Amanda Cook, junior guard Kelsey Mitchell and sophomore guard Maegan
Olivarez.
Kourtney Holyfield, a freshman who started on the varsity volleyball
team, is also starting on the basketball team and playing like someone
with a lot more experience.
Last year’s very young squad had a lot of quickness, but didn’t shoot
very well, particularly layups, missing many, many easy opportunities
when the ball just wouldn’t go in.
“We’ve improved on our shooting during the off-season,” Christenberry
said. “We’re hitting more of our layups, although we’re still not where
we want it to be.
“We’re still quick, but we want to improve at the free throw line,” he
added.
A big help is the fact the girls don’t have to learn a new system this
year, Christenberry said.
“Our seniors have taken more of a leadership role, and we have a lot of
heart,” he noted. “We’ll fight you to the very end.”
The most glaring weakness, at the moment, has been at the free throw
line, where the Lady Panthers haven’t been outstanding.
“We also need to work on our rebounding,” Christenberry said. “For our
district, we’re undersized (aside from Pannell, nobody is taller than
5-8), so we need to work on getting better control of the boards on the
defensive end.
“I think we’re a much tighter team this year, overall,” he added. “We’ve
pulled together a little more. It helps that everything is not new.”
The team’s scoring has been fairly balanced this year, he noted.
“We’ve had some big performances, but if you look at our box scores,
we’ve had a lot of people scoring, and a number of different leading
scorers,” he said.
“Sara’s had three games in the 20s, and Jeanice scored 27 against
Kerens,” he added. “Chelsea is hitting right around 10 or 12 a game.
Kourtney had 13 against Spring Hill, and Hammack usually scores six to
10 a game.
“If they (opponents) try to take away one player, it opens something up
for somebody else,” he said. “We don’t care who scores, as long as
Mabank scores.”
As noted above, the Lady Panthers will face the district favorite, West
Mesquite, early in the first round, and Christenberry said the Lady
Wranglers are clearly the team to beat.
“They’re always tough and athletic,” he said. “They’ve got their top two
players back from last year, and they only graduated one or two kids.
“We played them pretty tough here at our place last year,” he added.
“Last year, everybody in the district was pretty young, so everybody has
their top players back,” Christenberry said. “We graduated four, and
everybody else graduated fewer than that.”
Red Oak has been playing well early in the season, and Mesquite Poteet
is always tall and athletic, he said.
“Forney has been struggling, but their top player had a knee injury, and
they’re waiting to get her back,” Christenberry said. “Lancaster is
always athletic.”
Last year’s district race was a dogfight for the other three playoff
spots behind unbeaten West Mesquite, with each team beating up on the
others, and forcing home-and-home splits.
“It’s shaping up to look about the same this year,” Christenberry said.
“It’ll be a lot of the same kids going at it again, just a year older.
“The keys for us will be taking care of the basketball and gaining
control of the boards,” he said. “Also, doing the little things right.
We are not going to get out-hustled.”
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Members of the Mabank Lady Panthers basketball team this year are (from
left, front row) Amanda Cook, Sara Springer, Kelsey Mitchell, Kourtney
Holyfield and Ashton Norman; (back row) Ashley Hammack, Jeanice Mojica,
Chelsea Alldredge, Olivia Pannell, Cheyenne Alldredge, Maegan Olivarez
and coach Cody Christenberry.
Bulldogs freeze Frost
Monitor Staff Reports
EUSTACE–Taking advantage of Frost’s ice-cold shooting, the Eustace
Bulldogs froze out the visiting Polar Bears 43-28 Tuesday.
 This
weekend, the Bulldogs were scheduled to play in the Frankston
tournament, opening play Thursday against Oakland.
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Eustace Bulldog Blake Hammonds (center) forces
his way between two Frost defenders during the fourth quarter of the
Bulldogs' 43-28 win over the visiting Polar Bears Tuesday.
Tuesday, Dec. 15, the Bulldogs will host the Grand Saline Indians for
a three-game slate, opening with a 5 p.m. sub-varsity matchup.
Next weekend, Dec. 17-19, Eustace will travel to Grand Saline to play in
the Indians’ tournament before taking a Christmas break.
Tuesday, Dec. 29, the Bulldogs will visit Fruitvale for a two-game
slate, opening at 4 p.m.
Before a small crowd in the cavernous E.L. Kirk Gym, the Bulldogs and
Polar Bears played evenly through the first quarter before the Bulldogs
started pulling away from the cold-shooting Bears.
Eustace held a one-point lead after the first quarter, but outscored the
Polar Bears 10-6 in the second, 13-6 in the third and 12-9 in the fourth
quarter to forge the final 15-point margin.
Seven Bulldogs scored, led by Addison Scott’s 14 points and Guy
Hargrove’s 10 points.
Blake Hammonds added five points, as Trevan Johnson and John Bradburn
both had four points, and both Braden Strickland and Jacob McCarter
finished with three points.
Philip Page led the Polar Bears, scoring 18 of Frost’s 28 points. Kyle
Montgomery and David Rios added three points each, Ty Ritterbach had two
points and both Daniel Steels and Mark Jackson hit free throws.
KHS boys
beat S-R
Monitor Staff Reports
KEMP–An outstanding defensive quarter enabled the Kemp Yellowjackets to
defeat the visiting Scurry-Rosser Wildcats 47-42 Tuesday.
 Now
2-6 on the season, the ’Jackets were scheduled to open play Thursday in
the Great East Texas Shoot-Out against the hosting Brownsboro Bears.
Monitor Photo/Kerry Yancey
Kemp Yellowjacket senior Wesley Kerr (11) drives the lane against
Scurry-Rosser Wildcat A.J. Ladd (44) during the first half of Kemp's
47-42 win over the visiting Wildcats Tuesday.
Tuesday, Dec. 15, the Kemp boys will travel to Palestine for a
non-district basketball matchup, with a 5 p.m. freshman contest opening
a three-game slate.
Friday, Dec. 18, the ’Jackets are scheduled to host Fairfield for an 8
p.m. varsity contest, and Monday, Dec. 21, they will host Miller Grove,
with the boys game following a 2 p.m. girls contest.
After a Christmas break, the ’Jackets will play in the annual Kaufman
Holiday Classic tournament Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 28-29.
Following a stirring girls’ game against Malakoff (see related story,
page 1B), the Kemp boys faced off against the taller Wildcats, but held
a narrow 13-9 lead after the first quarter.
The ’Jackets were able to pad their lead out to six points by halftime,
24-18, thanks to balanced scoring, as Jeff Goldman, Ryan Emfinger (two
baskets), Jared Lane and Terrence Sistrunk all scored baskets.
In the third quarter, the ’Jackets turned on the defensive pressure,
limiting the Wildcats to just one basket (by Carlos Cruz) while scoring
11 points on buckets by Zach Allison, Sistrunk and Cody Dunagan, with
Allison and Sistrunk combining to hit 5-of-6 from the free throw stripe.
With a commanding 35-20 lead going into the fourth quarter, the ’Jackets
had to withstand a huge comeback by the Wildcats, who hit five 3-point
baskets in the period.
James Murell scored 11 of his game-high 16 points in the Wildcats’
fourth-quarter run, hitting three of S-R’s five treys.
Allison, who hit 8-of-11 from the charity stripe, led the ’Jackets with
12 points, as Sistrunk and Emfinger both scored eight points each, Jeff
Goldman added six points, Wesley Kerr had five, Dunagan four, with Jake
Goldman and Lane finishing with two points each.
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Upcoming games |
Girls basketball
Dec. 15
MHS @ Lancaster*
KHS vs Italy
EHS vs Cross Roads
Dec. 18
MHS vs West Mesquite*
Dec. 19
KHS @ Lindale
Dec. 21
KHS vs Miller Grove
Dec. 28-30
MHS @ Kaufman tourn.
KHS @ Gatesville tourn.
EHS @ Brownsboro tourn.
Jan. 2
MHS open
KHS @ Cross Roads
Jan. 5
MHS vs Terrell*
KHS @ Quinlan Ford
Jan. 8
MHS @ Red Oak*
KHS vs Van*
EHS vs Mineola*
(*District contest) |
Boys basketball
Dec. 15
MHS @ Wills Point
KHS @ Palestine
EHS vs Grand Saline
Dec. 17-19
MHS @ Sabine tourn.
KHS @ Athens tourn.
EHS @ Grand Saline tourn.
Dec. 18
KHS vs Fairfield
Dec. 21
KHS vs Miller Grove
Dec. 28-29
MHS @ Wagstaff Classic
KHS @ Kaufman tourn.
Dec. 29
EHS @ Fruitvale |
Soccer
Jan. 2
EHS vs Kemp (boys only)
MHS girls @ Greenville (scr)
Jan. 5
MHS girls vs NForney (scr)
EHS b&g vs Ferris
Jan 7-9
EHS hosts tournament
(KHS, MHS boys)
MHS g @ Mt. Pleasant trn. |
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