Karnes Co. TX - NEWS - February 2004 This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Kimm Antell Copyright. All rights reserved. http://files.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ Copyright 2004 Victoria Advocate Online (http://victoriaadvocate.com) The Victoria Advocate - http://TheVictoriaAdvocate.com Karnes City keeps playoff hopes alive February 11, 2004 DUSTIN WENZEL Advocate Sports Writer KARNES CITY - Both the Yorktown and Karnes City coaches knew there was a more important game being played in District 31-2A. If Bloomington could defeat the Kenedy Leopards at home, Bloomington would take the final District 31-2A playoff seed, and the district finale for Karnes City and Yorktown would have no playoff implications. Instead, Kenedy knocked off the Lady Cats 59-36, and Karnes City won a free-throw shootout with Yorktown 53-50 to stay alive for a playoff berth on Tuesday night. Karnes City's win moved the Lady Badgers to 15-14 and 5-5 in district play, tied with Bloomington for third place. The two teams have yet to determine a time and site for its playoff. But before either team worried about Bloomington, they had to worry about staying out of foul trouble. The first 16 minutes of play resulted in 29 fouls, 17 missed free throws and only a little more than a dozen times when either team changed possessions without the whistle blowing. The two teams combined for 50 fouls before the final buzzer sounded. "It definitely slowed down the game because we're a fast paced team," said Karnes City head coach Burke Braun, who saw one of his main offensive contributors, Meg Barrett, pick up her third foul in the second quarter. "If you add Meg Barrett to this team, she adds a world of difference," Yorktown head coach Joseph Grimes said of Barrett, who missed the Lady Badgers' first game against Yorktown because of a knee injury. But as Karnes City endured fouls, it also had to limit Yorktown's Madi Caran, who scored a game-high 25 points. While the Lady Badgers forced Caran to hurt them from the foul line in the first half, the post player single-handedly gave the game life in the fourth quarter with 11 unanswered points - mostly in the paint - to pull the KittyKats back to within four with four minutes to play. Caran was limited to hurt her opponent primarily from the free throw line in the first half as she was 8-of-14 from the charity stripe. Her foul shot attempts from the line decreased in the second half, but her effectiveness from the field increased. "I told her to take the ball to the basket more instead of passing it off," Grimes said. The post player did just that, singlehandedly giving the game life in the fourth quarter with 11 unanswered points - mostly in the paint - to pull the KittyKats back to within four with four minutes to play. "We tried to limit her shooting and tried covering up on the other guards," Braun said. "We try to keep her to about 14, but we limited the rest of their bench and their starters." Only one KittyKat guard, Shelby Schlinke, scored in double-figures with 12 points, but Yorktown's turnovers and the outside shooting of Lady Badgers' Tara Witte and Shae Krause led to its season's end. "You get into a game like that and you miss free throws and turn the ball over," Grimes said, "you miss opportunities to score." ***************************************** Wildcats hold off Badgers February 11, 2004 DUSTIN WENZEL Advocate Sports Writer KARNES CITY - After playing close in their first two meetings, Yorktown head coach Michael Taggart knew the result of their District 31-2A contest against Karnes City would come down to one shot, and he was right. Karnes City guard Cody Hale missed a potential game-winning 3- pointer at the buzzer to give Yorktown a 47-46 win over the Badgers on Tuesday night in Karnes City. The win gives Yorktown (18-8, 7-1) an invitation to the Class 2A playoffs and keeps the Wildcats in the hunt for the District 31-2A championship. Karnes City (10-13, 3-5) finds itself two games out with two games to play after Refugio's 64-58 win over Skidmore-Tynan. "We're getting the kids trying to focus on a district championship," Yorktown head coach Michael Taggart said. "We knew they were in a must-win situation and we had to come in here and take care of business." Hale also missed a jumper from the free throw line with eight seconds left but ended the night with 12 points. Yorktown's James Campbell, who led all scores with 15 points, converted on a three-point play to take the lead to begin the fourth quarter.