This past weekend, the Levelland Loboettes, Ropes Lady Eagles, Sundown Roughettes and Roughnecks all competed at the Denver City Shootout, with the Loboettes winning the Tournament Championship and the Lady Eagles winning the Consolation Championship.
The Loboettes went a perfect 4-0 in tournament play, starting with a 71-38 win against Ropes. Presley Smith led Levelland with 36 points, powered by a perfect 10/10 on free throws and two three pointers. Other Loboette scorers included Brook’lyn Cornish with 17 points and Jill Lopez with five points.
Brooklyn Hogg led the Lady Eagles in the loss with 16 points, followed by Rylie Hester with 10 points and Karli Rhoads with six points.
Levelland would take down Andrews next, 62-48, once again led by Presley Smith with 21 points, followed by Brook’lyn Cornish with 15 points and Brooklyn Escobar with 12 points.
In their third game, the Loboettes would beat Littlefield, 57-50, led by Brook’lyn Cornish with 20 points. Presley Smith would also add 13 points, and Sydnii Joyce would have 12 points.
Their championship game against Estacado would prove to be their toughest of the tournament, but Levelland prevailed 59-57. Brook’lyn Cornish led the team with 23 points, followed by Presley Smith with 19 points.
“I’m really pleased with this team in terms of playing good basketball close to district play,” Loboettes Head Coach Jacob Bell said. “Our goal is to always be our best in late Dec. going into Jan. and I feel like we are on the right trajectory. Overall, this was a total team effort going 4-0.”
Following the Shootout Championship, the Loboettes now sit at 9-3 on the season.
For the Lady Eagles, they would run the table following their loss against Levelland, beginning with a 57-32 win over Presidio.
Ropes’ leading scorers against Presidio were Brooklyn Hogg with 18 points and Zailyn Wylie with 12 points.
Hogg would follow that up with a 28-point performance to lead the Lady Eagles to a 48-39 win against Sundown. Annabelle Falls also had nine points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Camry Jourden led the Roughettes in scoring with 14 points, adding four steals and two assists.
And Ropes would capture the Consolation Championship with a 62-38 win over Fort Stockton, behind 28 points from Brooklyn Hogg and Karli Rhoads with 12 points.
“After an incredibly tough first round matchup with Levelland, I’m so proud of how these young kids responded and battled back to win the next three,” Lady Eagles Head Coach Marianne Wolfe said. “We grew up a lot and continued to learn and evolve in each game. We did a great job on the boards on both ends all weekend, and Brooklyn Hogg was a dominant force offensively finishing with 90 points for the tournament. Good start to a tough December for us.” Following the Consolation Championship, the Lady Eagles are now 8-3 this season.
The Roughettes would respond to their loss against Ropes with a 45-35 win over Portales, led by Camry Jourden with 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and two assists. Araceli Ibarra also had 10 points, three rebounds and two steals.
The Roughettes also played Littlefield and Monahans, losing to Littlefield 6757 and beating Monahans 67-34.
Against Littlefield, Camry Jourden had 22 points and Avyian McGlasson had 14 points. Against Monahans, Araceli Ibarra had 15 points and Jourden had 12 points.
“The team continues to improve every game,” Roughettes Head Coach Jared Neighbors said. “We have two more games before district starts, and this weekend’s tournament was a great look at some things we need to clean up before district gets going. The intensity and competitive spirit of this team is fun to coach, and I’m looking forward to going into the next phase of the season with them real soon.”
Following the tournament, the Roughettes are now 8-7 this season.
And rounding out the local teams in the field was the Sundown Roughnecks, who went 1-3 in tournament play, going 1-1 in pool play and 0-2 in bracket play.
The Roughnecks beat Midland Lee JV 54-51 and lost to Andrews 68-25 in pool play. Scorers against Andrews included Nathan McAdams with nine points, Kye Powell with seven points and Athan Peralez with three points.
In bracket play, the Roughnecks lost to Lovington 5651 and Seagraves 58-57. Scorers against Seagraves included Kye Powell with 22 points, Nathan McAdams with 11 points and Josh Hogan with nine points.
Following the Shootout, the Roughnecks are now 4-4 overall this season.