Varsity hoops action returned to the Aledo High School gymnasium for the first time in the 2023-24 basketball season on Tuesday, Nov. 14.
The Ladycats dropped their home opener to the Tenaha Lady Tigers, ranked fifth in the state in Class 2A, 60-38. In the nightcap, Chisholm Trail got the better of the Bearcats in a back-and-forth battle, 64-56.
Chisholm Trail’s ability to score from long range kept the Bearcats on their hip throughout the contest. Though they came up empty often on the visiting end of the floor, time and again as Aledo closed the gap on the scoreboard, a timely three-pointer gave the Rangers the breathing room they needed to hold off the Bearcat advance.
In total, the visiting team hit nine shots from beyond the arc during the 32 minutes of action.
At the home end of the floor, the guard play from Joaquin Pacheco and Jackson Todd was exceptional, given Tuesday night’s contest was the first of the season for the Bearcats. In his first varsity start, Pacheco led Aledo’s offense with 20 points. Todd accounted for another 18 points, with half of his scoring coming from three-pointers.
Down in the paint was where the Aledo offense struggled. What are typically high-percentage shots down in the post would not fall in the opener. Aledo’s bigs battled all game down low, but just did not have the combination right to get the lid off the bucket.
Chisholm Trail opened the game by knocking down their first three-pointer of the night less than a minute into the contest. Aledo trailed ever so slightly until Pacheco knocked down a jumper from a dozen feet out with 3:41 left in the opening stanza to tie the game at 6-6.
The tie was short-lived, however, as the Rangers closed out the first quarter with an 11-6 run that put the home team down by a score of 17-12 when the opening frame ended.
Aledo rallied in the second quarter before taking their first lead of the game with 3:10 left in the half after Pacheco put one in from close range to make it a 22-21 affair.
Chisholm Trail answered back with a three-ball to go up by a tally of 24-22 with 3:05 left on the clock, forcing the Bearcats to use a timeout.
In the final three minutes of the first half, the two teams would take turns holding the paper-thin advantage as the lead changed hands three times down the stretch. By the time the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the first half, the Rangers held onto a one-point lead, 29-28.
Coming out of the break the two teams took turns trading blows reminiscent of a heavyweight slugfest until the four-minute mark in the third. Midway through the third quarter, Chisholm Trail was able to get some separation on the scoreboard as they closed out the quarter with a 14-8 run to take their biggest lead to that point in the game.
Trailing by seven points to start the fourth quarter, Aledo was outscored 15-14 in the final eight minutes of action as the Rangers went on to cruise to an eight-point victory.
Hoops season can get off to a rough start when the school is as successful at volleyball as Aledo is. Starting the season missing several members of the squad still competing in their fall sports season and then struggling to find time in a busy competition schedule to build team chemistry once volleyball ends is just a fact of life for Ladycats head basketball coach Nikki Hyles.
Presently, that’s where the Ladycats find themselves. In the season opener against Bridgeport, Aledo had just six players suit up for the game due to other playoff or state level competitions. After finally getting the full team together at the end of volleyball season a week ago, Aledo has had just two practices with all hands on deck.
Generally speaking, that’s a tough row to hoe during any game this early in the season. But, when facing a top five team in the state, it’s an arduous task just finding a way to be competitive for four quarters.
The Lady Tigers took control of the game early, using their athleticism and team continuity to run roughshod over an Aledo squad still trying to get their bearings. Tenaha outscored Aledo 17-9 in the opening quarter, and 17-10 in the second as they went into the half leading by a score of 34-19.
The third quarter was all Tenaha, as the Lady Tigers outpaced the hosting Ladycats 22-9 to take a 56-28 advantage into the final quarter of action.
Aledo continued to battle in the fourth quarter in spite of Tenaha working to melt away the clock. The Ladycats outscored the visiting team, 10-4, for the first time all night as the Lady Tigers went on to win by 22.
Bearcats vs. Chisholm Trail – Nov. 14
Aledo 12 16 6 14 56
Chisholm Trail 17 12 20 15 60
Aledo scoring: Joaquin Pacheco 20, Jackson Todd 18, Jack Sawyer 10, Kaden LoBaugh 4, Owen Peterson 4.
Ladycats vs. Tenaha – Nov. 14
Aledo 9 10 9 10 38
Lipan 17 17 22 4 60
Aledo scoring: Caroline Browning 16, Ella Isbell 6, Kate Jackson 4, Elizabeth Griffin 4, Natalie Anderson 3, Kinley Elms 3, Brooklyn Dempsey 2.
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