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Weekly Newspaper and Travel Guide for Ward County Trans Pecos, Big Bend of West Texas

Sports

Dec. 24, 1998

Roundball team finds range


By Nathan Rogers
School was coming to a close, and everyone was making plans for the holidays. Excitement filled the air as school was let out. But the Loboes had a bit of unfinished business: The season's first district game, against Alpine. Though the Monahans girls had not beaten Alpine since 1996, the attitude of the team was one of quiet confidence.

The starting lineup was another new group, consisting of seniors Lori Enriquez, Tracie Jasso, Dedra Wessels, Amber Rogers, and sophomore Amanda Krone. From the opening tip-off, the group of girls that have been playing together for years began to form into almost a singular force. A complete and dominating team. Says Coach Mike Swigert, "I think the girls simply started to trust each other. They didn't care about individual stats. It didn't matter who scored, as long as it was us."

So, from the beginning, the Loboes led Alpine. The team got into the act, with 6 of the 10 players contributing. At the end of the first period, the Pack had outscored the lady Bucks 10-5. The sometimes shaky Monahans offense exploded in the second period, scoring 23 points, and taking a halftime lead of 33-16.

After a short rest, the team came back ready to attack, but seemed a bit slower. A shaky third quarter performance allowed the Lady Bucks to outscore them, but Monahans retained the lead, 35-23. The women then returned to form, using solid defense to complement a forming offense. The fourth quarter was simply a matter of preventing an outburst, and the women did just that, and took the victory, 48-38.

After the game, Coach Swigert said, "We had a good game today. We need to keep playing this way, but we have to shoot better. Our defense has been very tough, and it has to stay that way. It also needs an intensity."

The team's defense, which has been very solid in several recent games, has served as a base. It supports the team and sometimes makes up for the lack of offensive fireworks. Now, 13 games into the season, the offense is beginning to gel, giving the team a more balanced attack.

Says Senior Amber Rogers, "We're working together as a team and we're all friends. We've discovered each other's strengths and are using them to the best of our ability."

This newfound team strength is proving to be a worthy asset in carrying the team toward the playoffs. After Christmas the women will pick up where they left off, against rival Ft. Stockton. The Lady Prowlers will be the first round opponent for Monahans in the Reagan County Tournament on December 28. This game will be the third against Ft. Stock ton this year.

QUARTER1234F
Monahans 102321348
Alpine51171538
Scoring:Points
Tracie Jasso15
Lori Enriquez13Amanda Krone9
Shayla Terry5
Dedra Wessels4
Amber Rogers2
Free Throws-10 of 17 (58%)

Wildcats claw Cowboys


by Jim Lewallen

More physical basketball action took place between the Grandfalls Cowboys and the Wink Wildcats Friday night in Wink, with the Wildcats coming out on top, 59-44.

Trailing by only two points at the half, Grandfalls appeared to be matching up against the Wildcats. At the end of three, it was still close, as the Cowboys trailed 38-34.

The Wildcats totally dominated the fourth quarter, as they scored 21 points and held the Cowboys to ten. James Stocks was the high scorer for Grandfalls with 22, followed by Stephen Phillips with 16.

Said Grandfalls head coach Ed Jones, "We shot 71% from the free-throw line, but couldn't get production from the rest of the offense. James Stocks stepped it up and Wink couldn't keep him out of the paint. When we play Wink, it is always very physical." Grandfalls travels to Rankin December 29 to play the Red Devils at 7:30 p.m.

Dave Watts closest to pin


On Thursday December 17, the weekly Senior Fun Day Scramble was held at the Ward County Golf Course. It was a beautiful day, with a cloudy sky, highs is the mid-60's, and no wind.

There were six teams comprised of 24 entries. Taking first with a score of 63 was the team of Dave Watts, Glen Smith, Bob Baker, and Doyle Dixon. Second was the team of Jim Glaze, Bill Beair, Henry Ridings, W.T. Phipps and Audilio Cobos, with a 65.

Also at 65 was the third place team of Larry Patterson, Bo Mooring, Don McCoy, and Jack Bedford. In fourth with a 66 were Don Thresher, Charles McNabb, Merv Harper, and Dan Woods. In fifth with a 67 was the team of Jack Higginbotham, Jim Davalt, C.A. Hayes and Burl Reynolds. With a 69 in sixth place was the team of Clyde Smith, A.D. Weier, Vernon Rowe, and Milbert Helm.

Winning the "Closest to the Pin Jackpot" was Dave Watts, 20 feet away on hole no. 11. This was the last scramble of 1998. The next scramble, weather permitting, will be January 7. The new starting time will be 12:30 with check in at 12:00 noon.

Olguin earns black belt


by Nathan Rogers
On December 12, Monahans resident Rosendo Olguin, Jr. received his First Degree Black Belt in Karate. Olguin, the 20 year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Rosendo Olguin, Sr., is a student of Tukong Moosul Martial Arts in Odessa, where he has been training for three years.

Tukong Moosul is the Asian phrase for "Wisdom, Spirit, Strength. Rosendo began taking Karate in Monahans as a 14 year-old. He then transferred to Odessa, where he is trained by "the best," Master Cotton Hayes.

Rosendo's goal for the near future is to open a dojo (martial arts school) here in Monahans, to teach children and adults. In the meantime, he will continue training in Odessa.

Momentum puts Loboes on top


By Lanny Hayes
and Jim Lewallen

The Lobo Boys Basketball team entered Saturday's game with one thing on their mind: Momentum. Although the Dec. 19 game would be their last for almost two weeks (the Green plays in the Ft. Stockton Tournament Jan. 1-2), a positive showing would help mentally over the long holiday. The Loboes opponent, those aforementioned Ft. Stockton Panthers, had other ideas.

Feeding off a 27-4 run in the first and second quarters, the Panthers defeated the Loboes, 54-34.

The first quarter was filled with Stockton's full court press, which forced the Loboes into making errant passes and taking quick shots. Stockton used their physical play toacheive their victory, but failed to dominate the boards.

The Loboes followed Stockton's initial run with a 7-0 run of their own, pulling the game back to 27-11 with just over 4 minutes remaining in the second period. The Panthers answered back by keeping the ball away from the Loboes, and allowing them only a three point bucket by junior point guard Brian Morris in the final four minutes of the stanza. The Panthers took a 32-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Loboes refused to give up. Despite being outscored by the Panthers 19-12 in the third, the Loboes never gave up, and the Panther frustration finally got to them. Early in the third period, Lobo defenders refused to give Stockton's Nathan Sawyer the freedom he desired to move down the court. Sawyer cleared the Loboes out with a vicious elbow shot, and was kicked out of the game The Loboes, however, failed to convert on the technical foul shots that Sawyer's ejection brought on, and did not score on the ensuing posession.

The Lobo defense shined in the fourth quarter, stifling up and allowing the Panthers a meager three points. The fourth quarter was dominated offensively by DePhil Phillips, who had seven of the team's nine in the stanza. Phillips led the Loboes with 9 points, followed by Morris with seven and Jason Merrrick with six. Chris Adams pitched in 5, including a 3-3 performance from the charity stripe. Jarod Thomas added three, while Micah Tuxhorn and Jorge Arroyo pitched in 2 each.



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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers, Inc.
Joe Warren, Publisher
107 W. Second St., Monahans TX 79756
Phone 915-943-4313, FAX 915-943-4314
e-mail monnews@ultravision.net

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Copyright 1998 by Ward Newspapers Inc.