Bowie defeats Cedar Ridge in R2 Elite 8

I guess this could be considered a mild upset but Bowie defeated Cedar Ridge 55-47 and will play winner of Richardson vs Skyline game which was postponed yesterday due to weather

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Elite 8 losers will be among contenders next season

The many faces I have captured of Deauzya Richards  and Arianna Whitfield could have me writing stories for months however this one sort of ties in to what I'm getting at. Cy Ranch, decimated by injuries over the past two seasons is probably going to be the team to beat next season, if you want to copy what I'm saying for a story now, you already have my permission whether I gave it to you before or not because believe I know I'm being copied.

Richards, Whitfield and a healthy Rachel Tapps will be the nucleus and since the game starts at the one, a year older, a year wiser and a year stronger will make D'Asia Collins even more "hard to handle" and remember everyone needs a zonebuster, Alyssa Guerrero is ready

Seven Lakes, well Michelle Fokam and Cydney Varner ar good for 30 every night. I was impressed with the improvement of Bailey Brown and Anna Bowman plus a superb fill in performance last night from Hannah Benenoch. Like Collins, Brooke Biggott will also be a point that attracts attention

Hightower has an abundance of youth in Taylor Howard, Jasmine Harvey and Eneily Rodriguez plus fellow sophomore Lenecia Mitchell will be back. Throw in Panebi Shirey, Rachel Brown and one of the top 2016 points in Texas, Maddison Glass and they could actually win the region, well all three are  going to be in the mix

My picks on season

I'm checking out  my first 12 picks and with the exception of Atascocita , all made it to the Elite 8 in their respective regions or class or one of them knocked out each other to get there which is why I place so much emphasis on telling people I don't really read other peoples rankings of teams or players, I base things on what I see because I am actually out there looking at games and not basing my thoughts on team records or mascots

Cy Woods and North Shore have been the teams to beat all season, I've been writing that since November and I said if they stay healthy, this is what it's going to come down to. I also said that either could get upset at Campbell because anything can happen in a one game series

One more time, others people rankings, what team you play on, high school or club,  or even more importantly, who trains you mean absolutely nothing to me. The game is played on the court, show me on the court

RANKINGS

Area HS Top 10 plus

After week two, this is what I have but keep in mind the top three have beaten up on each other and are the teams to beat. The fight from everyone else tells me that anyone can get hot in February and get out of here

1. Cy Woods

2. North Shore

3. Dekaney

4. Manvel

5. Westside

6. Barbers Hill

7. Hightower

8. Atascocita

9.Cy Fair

10. Seven Lakes

11. Clear Springs

12. Port Arthur Memorial

Westside defeats Seven Lakes in thriller

You got to have a backup plan or in other words a Plan B and I rolled the dice and figured that Westside vs Seven Lakes would be the best game for me to watch but with Cydney Varner going completely off in the first half, at times it appeared like this would get ugly but Orleans was still up the street but so were the Wolves intensity. Surprisingly Westside press until the 2nd half while the Sparatans actually went up early applying pressure but the turning point had to be Sentreal Gregory not only hitting some long ones but playing the passing lanes for steals and if you follow what I write over and over, players who can anticipate come up with some easy baskets that can change the momentum, she did and it did

Another strong game for the supporting cast, Tanea Thomas, Janae Smith and Kirby Caldwell all did things you may not see in the box score but Gregory and Maddisen Turner had that down scoring 21 and 23 respectively. Turner's improvement over the years has a lot to do with her maturity as she knows she's a force and shows it on the floor but this game wasn't easy and the Wolves are fortunate that Michelle Fokam got into foul trouble. Fokam still manged double digits but without her offensive presence, this kid is an undersized nightmare in the paint, it was going to be uphill

What can I say about Varner other than she was a nightmare in the first half, well she's also turning into one of the best midrange shooters in not only 2016 but in the state period. Big ups to Julia Bannister for hitting some clutch shots as well as Brooke Biggot, that, along with the performance from Hadassah Benenoch filling in for Fokam

The Wolves play Clear Springs at 6:30 Friday in what will be a GPR QUADRUPLE header, that's one more than three. Tickets  are only at the door, no Ticketmaster or Craigslist this time folks, one more time FOUR GAMES

'18 Jessica Murcer update

Jessica Murcer was one of the top young guards I saw last July and last week her  Westmoore HS knocked off the #2 ranked Southmoore Sabercats 61-54, Jess had 14 points. Then they defeated crosstown rival Moore 73-28 and Murcer led all scorers with 22 points. With these 2 wins Westmoore won the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference. Three of the top 5 ranked teams are in this conference with a fourth team ranked tenth. This is Westmoore's first Conference title in 13 years.

Southland Conference Tournament March 12-15 at Merrell Center

It's going to be a battle, I'll be there live and in living color, men's start on 11th

SOUTHLAND

2015 Southland Conference Women's Tournament Schedule

Thursday, March 12

Game 1: No. 8 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed, 11 a.m.

Game 2: No. 7 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed, 1:30 p.m.

Friday, March 13

Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 4 Seed, 11 a.m.

Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 Seed, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 14

Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 1 Seed, 1 p.m. (ESPN3)

Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 2 Seed, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Sunday, March 15

Championship Game, 12 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

E-8 group looking for "Road to Campbell" return

Cy Woods, Cy Ranch and Manvel made it to the regional finals last season, we all know, or should know Manvel won state. All nine of the area teams remaining in 6A have been to the regional finals at least once, did you know that? Well now you do and that's another siminism 

ARCHIVES

REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Class 6A

Region II

Round Rock Stony Point vs. Dekaney

7 p.m. Tuesday, A&M Consolidated

Region III

Westside vs. Seven Lakes

7 p.m. Tuesday, Merrell Center

Clear Springs vs. Hightower

6 p.m. Tuesday, Pearland

Cypress Ranch vs. Cypress Woods

Tuesday, Berry Center

Manvel vs. North Shore

7 p.m. Tuesday, Phillips

Who got JEFFERSONIZED #TXEEVAL

I've been dabbling with where I had both Shannon Jones and Taylor Alexander, yeah they're D1 one locks but the both possessed the key to be more than just that once they opened the door. They were spectacular at the camp, Jones is more aggressive and realizes she can take over while Alexander is living up to the "BEAST" status I labeled on her last summer

No camp I cover is ever complete without a selfie, it's just not logical but what does make sense is the work Marshell Hollins and KK Washington have put in. I see ya, is what I was thinking out loud as both have become complete players on both ends that simply don't quit on you. Oh yeah, if you don't follow me, shame on you but JEFFERSONIZED means if you ever watched The Jeffersons and listened to theme song, you'd get it , Movin On Up

Guards galore were in the store #TXEEVAL

It's always good to have one of the top guards in the country on hand and Alexis Morris is another young lady I told you would be a MDAA candidate when she was in middle school, simply because I know where the bar has been set. it's a science but not rocket science. Morris can play the two and go off for 40 or be a legitimate one and by that, make her teammates better something that has become somewhat of a lost art. The Cy Fair backcourt of Angela Harris and Kyler Wyatt had just come off a grueling game against Westside in the playoffs yet their energy level was still high, nothing like being young I guess.

This picture captures several stars I've mentioned including freshman Jala Buster who blew me away and will be a legitimate star. Worthing juniors Colandria Haynes and Andria Foreman also caught my eye, they just don't care who you are or what your rep is SUPPOSED to be, she comes at you and I love watching noting more than a throwback player

I liked Gabby Green when she was four inches shorter and wore goggles but the acronym OMG fits perfectly as her blazing speed made me remember who she was and I'm talking speed with the ball. Green is a defensive nightmare, outside shot and ball-handling were among the best at the camp. Speaking of among the best, Jasmine Smith is just that when you label 2018 Texas guards, she;s a silent assassin that just gets it done

Sophomore bigs shine #TXEEVAL

Kennedi Lofton turned a corner this season for Port Arthur Memorial and so did Natalya Chatman so as the list of 2017 posts from the area continue to make me smile, there were others. Olivia Noah is not really a post but the 5'11 star created some issues for defenders during the school season with Cy Fair. Noah can step out and hit the midrange as well as put it on the floor but good hands and footwork gave her easy baskets for the Bobcats. I've always liked Lofton and Chatman, both are physical and have a tremendous amount of upside, Chatman offensive game jumped through the roof this season

Amaya Martin definitely impressed me as she grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast for a layup passing several guards en route. She has an unlimited amount of potential and desire and by the end of summer I'm thinking big things will be in store. Martin and Ilya Babineaux are two of the states most poised posts on both ends, Babineaux is sometimes simply unstoppable with her array of moves and ability to finish with two or three players hanging on her

Big ups to the upside I saw in Sydney Cole a couple of years ago, she's grown even more, she's 6'2 and her confidence has also blossomed and when you're that size with that type of strength and work ethic, big things will be in store for this group of, well bigs