Lady Indians rip Simsboro in opening round of playoffs
Published 10:35 pm Thursday, February 17, 2022
- Anacoco senior Kadee Norris (with ball) drives to the lane and gets fouled during the Lady Indians' win in the first round of the Class B playoffs on Thursday against Simsboro, 93-34. Norris finished with four points in her final home game as a Lady Indian. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Green)
By DANIEL GREEN | BWS Sports
ANACOCO — The Anacoco Lady Indians couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Class B playoffs.
Sophomore Bella Henry scored 29 of her game-high 31 points in the first half as the ninth-seeded Lady Indians scorched the No. 24 Simsboro Lady Tigers on Thursday night, 93-34.
“I’m super proud of our girls,” Anacoco head coach Tim Parker said. “They have been working extremely hard and it’s good to see it pay off for them tonight.”
With the win, the Lady Indians will take to the road at 6:30 p.m. Monday for a matchup against eighth-seeded Quitman. The cost of admission for the contest will be $8 per person.
Simsboro took the opening lead of the game thanks to a driving layup from Ikeia Brown, but the Lady Indians scored the next 14 points to take firm control, which included a trio of three-pointers from Henry.
“Bella has been relentless,” Parker said. “Not only has she been shooting a lot of balls during practice, but Bella has also been putting in extra work here and with her dad. It’s really beginning to show.
Henry finished the first period with 13 points as Anacoco built an 18-7 lead. But she really came to life during the second quarter, scoring 16 of the Lady Indians’ 32 points as they took a 50-10 advantage into the halftime intermission.
“We have all been working so hard,” Henry said. “To win means a lot, but we need to stay focused and get ready for the next game.”
The second half was all Anacoco as well as Paige Mayo, Bailey Davis and Brooklyn Bryant took care of the scoring load. Mayo and Davis each finished with a double-double, with Mayo just three blocked shots of an elusive triple-double.
Parker was able to substitute freely during the second half, which allowed a total of 12 players to score for the Lady Indians, including seniors Kadee Norris and Skylar Ortego. Norris connected on a three-pointer and a free throw during the fourth period, while Ortego, who has battled injuries most of the season, notched a free throw to get into the book.
“I was really proud of how Kadee and Skylar played tonight,” Parker said. “They came in and produced some big plays.”
Davis finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Indians, while Mayo added 12 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocked shots. Bryant chipped in with 11 points.
Brown paced the Lady Tigers with 14 points before going out in the fourth quarter with an injury. Amani Dean contributed 12 points in the loss.
