Area Basketball

Atlanta Girls
Atlanta lost a tough battle with district foe North Lamar as the Lady Rabbs took a, 50-41, loss on Jan. 17.
Keyona Easter scored 19 points, had eight steals and posted three assists, and teammate Sheveonia Smith added 13 points, three steals and two assists.
On Jan. 20, the Lady Rabbits bounced Paris, 63-47.
Atlanta jumped out to a comfortable, 43-18, halftime lead and just cruised in the second half.
Smith had 20 points, Easter added 20 points and eight assists, Kaydee Kelly had 17 points with five treys and Kinsey Kelly posted five points.

Queen City Boys
On Jan. 13, Queen City’s varsity boys traveled to DeKalb for a district showdown. QC hit 10 threes as a team and won, 63-56. 
Tyler Nolen led the way with 20 points including four three pointers. Alex Carver had 14 points with three treys. 
The win was sealed by Nolen hitting four straight free throws late. 
On Jan. 17, QC hosted Hughes Springs. 
The Bulldogs fell behind 9-0 to open the game, but battled back to make it, 28-24, at the half. Heading into the fourth QC was up 43-41. 
Nolen led the way again with 17 points, including 4-of-6 from three-point land. 
Easton Fincher had 12 points, Carver added 10 points and Dylan Scott scored all nine of his points from beyond the arc. 
On Jan. 20, the Bulldogs traveled to Daingerfield to play the first place team in the district. 
QC fell behind big again, trailing 10-0 after two minutes of action. 
The Bulldogs battled back to make it 26-22 Daingerfield at the half. 
Queen City caught fire in the third quarter as they outscored Daingerfield 21-6. 
The Bulldogs eventually won the game, 58-52, for a big upset of the Tigers. 
Fincher had 15 points, Carver posted 15 points with four treys, and Nolen had 11 points. 
The win was huge for Head Coach Justin Burk and the program.
To explain some of Daingerfield’s dominance in the district, in the last five years entering Friday night, Daingerfield had been 57-1 in district play, including 29-0 at home. 
QC last beat the Tigers 17-plus years ago.

Queen City Girls
The win put QC in a tie with New Boston for second in district, one game behind Daingerfield. 
On Jan. 17, the Queen City Lady Bulldogs improved to (8-0) in district with a dominant, 54-23, win over Hughes Springs. 
QC (15-6, 8-0) took a, 33-19, lead into the break, and outscored the Lady Mustangs 21-4 in the second half including an 11-0 finish in the third quarter.
Jessica Jones had a game-high 37 points with 10 rebounds and four treys; Madi Jones added six points with 11 boards; Jacie Lance put in four points and grabbed 10 rebounds; CeCe Walker posted five points with 10 rebounds and four steals and Emily Maxwell had two points.
Queen City Jr. High
This past weekend the Queen City junior high girls’ basketball program traveled to Redlick to compete in the Redlick Basketball Tournament.
The seventh grade faced Redwater in game one and were defeated, 13-43, which placed them in the consolation bracket. 
In game two they faced Hooks and won, 26-20, winning third place for the day. 
The leading scorer was Nyla Harrison with 14 points for the day.
The eighth grade girls played Redwater in their first game and won, 33-6. 
Hannah Fitts was leading scorer for that game with 18 points, hitting four three-pointers in the first half.  
The eighth grade played Redlick for the championship game late in the day. The Lady Bulldogs played a tight game but ultimately fell short losing, 24-28. 
The leading scorer for the game was Claire Bates with eight points. Hanna Fitts finished the day 23 points overall.

McLeod
On Jan. 17, McLeod had their perfect district record challenged by Avery, but in the end the Longhorns came away with a, 45-40, victory.
McLeod (22-2, 6-0) took a 14-9 lead into the second quarter, but a 15-10 run by Avery put the ’Horns up by only one point at halftime.
A 21-16 finish in the second half lifted McLeod to victory in hostile territory no doubt as they beat Avery on their home court.
J.R. Smith had a solid outing for the Longhorns as he racked up 20 points, Colby Smith added nine, Dagan Keener had eight, Blake Williams six and Ryan Anderson two.