The Wills Point Tigers entered the final two games of District 14-4A play with one simple goal: win either against Van Feb. 12 or Rains Feb. 16 to assure themselves a spot in the 4A UIL Basketball Playoffs.
Wills Point took care of business during their first opportunity to clinch a playoff spot, bouncing back from an early deficit for a 46-34 over their in-county rival.
Van came out hot in the early going against the Tigers, building up a 9-0 lead in the first quarter. Wills Point eventually chipped away four points from that advantage before the end of the frame, as Van held a 9-4 lead entering the second.
The Wills Point tennis team will need to clear out extra space in their trophy case after returning from the Kilgore Tournament with the overall team championship.
The Wills Point Tiger tennis team couldn’t have asked for a much better outcome from their trip to Kilgore Feb. 12, walking away from the Kilgore Tournament with the team championship trophy for their performance against a field that included teams from 2A all the way to 6A.
Wills Point posted 133 points total, five more than second place Longview and 18 more than third place Center.
Coach Ann Daniell stated, “We couldn't be more proud of these kids and their accomplishments!”
Meredith Edwards threw 2 2/3 innings of relief against Grand Saline, allowing four hits and three runs, only one of which was earned.
By David Kapitan, Staff Writer
The Wills Point Lady Tigers and Grand Saline Indians met on the diamond Feb. 15 in one of the first softball games of the 2016 season for each team. The smaller school in the battle, Grand Saline, more than held its own, using multi-run innings in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings to register a 13-6 win over the homestanding Lady Tigers.
After keeping the Lady Indians off the scoreboard in the top of the first, the Wills Point offense generated a run after Meredith Edwards came around to score following a single, ground out, single by Kamree Clark and a fielding error.
Nash Pendleton positions himself near the baseline to return a shot during Tiger tennis action last week.
The Wills Point fall tennis season continued to be in full swing over the past week, with the Tigers taking part in matches against both Kaufman and All Saints over the course of the past week. The Tiger tennis team played Kaufman at home Jan. 19, splitting matches at 10-10 with the Lion program.
Match scores against Kaufman included:
-Jack Johns lost to Derian Hernandez, 6-3, 4-6, 10-12; lost to Rudy Perez, 8-9 7-9
-Michael Durham lost to Rudy Perez, 1-6, 1-6; lost to Derian Hernandez, 0-8
Three Van Zandt County schools, Grand Saline, Van and Wills Point, all started their 2016 powerlifting seasons Jan. 15 by lifting at the Van Invitational Meet.
The schools fared well overall with the Grand Saline team finishing 11th in the boys division and 8th in the girls division, the Van team finishing 10th in the boys division and 11th in the girls division and the Wills Point team finishing second in the boys division and 10th in the girls division.
The Wills Point Lady Tigers stormed back from the brink of defeat against Van on Tuesday night, storming back form a 27-16 deficit late in the third quarter for a thrilling 32-30 road win over the Lady Vandals.
Van got the better of Wills Point throughout much of the first half, taking advantage of a tough shooting start by the Lady Tigers to build a 17-8 lead after one quarter of play.
Offensive struggles hit both teams exceptionally hard in the second quarter as Van narrowly outscored Wills Point 5-2 to extend their lead to 22-10 entering the half.
Student-athletes that participated in fall athletic events, including cheerleading, cross country, volleyball and football were recognized by members of the WPHS coaching staff at the annual Fall Athletic Banquet Jan. 25 in the high school cafetorium.
Coaches not only honored the athletes for their performance on the court, but also for their performance in the classroom.
Kendall Brown (24) gets in position for Wills Point’s press break as Canton’s Taylor Tidwell plays defense.
By David Kapitan, Staff Writer
The Wills Point Lady Tigers struggled to keep pace with the state-ranked Canton Eaglettes last week, falling to 0-3 overall in District 14-4A play with a 71-20 home loss Jan. 15. Canton’s pressure defense and up tempo offense carried the first half for the Eaglettes, who built up a 28-7 lead after just one quarter of play. Eaglette post Lilly Nelson proved to be a tough cover on the interior, leading the Eaglettes with 9 points in the frame Canton continued to roll in the second quarter, holding Wills Point to just two points to watch the margin grow to 45-9 going into the half. Five points each by Destiny Johnson and Kenley Nixon did more than enough to counter Wills Point’s three point effort in the third quarter, extending the lead even further to 65-12.
Senior guard/forward Caden Petrey looks for an open teammate during play at the Wills Point Shootout Dec. 10.
By David Kapitan, Staff Writer
Offense proved to be a rare commodity this week for both the Wills Point Tigers and visiting Ferris Yellowjackets, with the two teams combining for a low scoring affair Dec. 15. The Yellowjackets eventually prevailed in the game, taking a 39-29 win back home to Ferris.
Play in the first quarter heavily favored the visiting team, with Ferris taking an 11-4 lead after eight minutes of play.
The Tigers were able to chip away one point during a frustrating second quarter, outscoring Ferris 6-5 to trail 16-10 heading into the half.
