QUEEN CITY, Texas-Queen City's girls finds themselves only one win away from at least a share of the District 14-3A basketball championship and the top seed going into the postseason.
The Lady Bulldogs (18-6, 11-0) dominated the second half and remained unbeaten in league play by defeating second-place New Boston, 63-55.
Queen City's boys jumbled up their standings by beating the Lions, 59-49. Both teams are now 6-3 in district.
Girls
Queen City 63,
New Boston 55
Jessica Jones and Tiera Johnson came up big for Queen City when they needed an offensive spark.
The Lady Bulldogs trailed 41-33 with 2:18 left in the third quarter.
However, the host team went on an 8-0 run during the next 90 seconds to tie the game, and led 45-43 going into the final quarter.
Three-pointers by Madison Thomas and McKenzee Thomas had the Lady Lions on top momentarily. That's when Johnson and Jessica Jones took over.
Johnson swished a 25-footer with 4:10 left in the game to put Queen City in the lead for good at 52-49. Seconds later Jones' trey made it 55-49.
Queen City scored the game's first six points and never trailed in the first quarter.
The game was tied four times in the second period, the Lions taking a 29-26 lead to the dressing room on a 3-pointer by McKenzee Jones.
It was a fast-pace game, with a combined 52 turnovers. Queen City edged the Lions on the glass, 45-41. New Boston's Keshawn Davis pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds to go with her 10 points. Madison Thomas led the Lions with 12 points.
Jessica Jones led all scorers with 22 points. Johnson and Cece Walker had 11 each, with Walker pulling down a team-high 14 rebounds.
Girls
New Boston 12 17 14 12 - 55
Queen City 15 11 15 22 - 63
NB (55): Mc. Thomas 9, Ma. Thomas 12, Duffer 4, Ratcliff 3, Johnson 5, C. Davis 9, Burnette 4, K. Davis 10. TEAM TOTALS 20 8-20 15 55.
QC (63): Lance 6, M. Jones 4, Walker 11, Johnson 11, J. Jones 22, Maxwell 8. TEAM TOTALS 25 8-16 14 63.
3-point goals: NB-Mc. Thomas 3, Ma. Thomas 3, Duffer, C. Davis. QC-Johnson 2, Walker, J. Jones.
Boys
Queen City 59,
New Boston 49
New Boston had every opportunity to rally in the fourth quarter, forcing eight turnovers, while the Bulldogs could only convert 5 of 18 second-half free throws.
While Queen City struggled from 15 feet, they were deadly from the half-circle with nine treys.
Tyler Nolen was a perfect example of the Bulldogs' odd shooting performance. He had three treys and led the winners with 16 points, but made only 3 of 11 free throws. Austin Lowe scored 13 and Alex Carver added 10.
The smaller Bulldogs did out-rebound the Lions, 48-39. Josh Henry, Isaiah Stiger and Lowe grabbed nine rebounds each for QC.
New Boston didn't have any scorers in double digits, with Colby McElwee and Deandre Dedmon scoring nine each for the Lions. Dedmon got in early foul trouble and rode the bench most of the game.
New Boston 12 16 10 11 - 49
Queen City 11 16 16 16 - 59
NB (49): House 3, Huff 8, Sanchez 2, McElwee 9, Copeland 7, Gray 5, Murphy 4, Dedmon 9, TEAM TOTALS 19 8-14 20 49.
QC (59): Henry 1, Carver 10, Fincher 6, Nolen 16, Lowe 13, Stiger 2, Burrow 2, Scott 9. TEAM TOTALS 20 10-30 16 59.
3-point goals: NB-McElwee, Copeland, Gray; QC-Nolen 3, Scott 3, Carver 2, Fincher.