By REID TUCKER
This season’s first meetings between the boys and girls squads of Paxton and Laurel Hill included flashes of both the exemplary and more of the same. The thing is, even the “run of the mill” games between these eternal rivals produce more excitement than some teams can muster in multiple seasons.
To whit – the Lady Cats rolled on a 65-36 victory while the boys’ game went down to the wire before Paxton got a 69-64 win.
On the history-making front, the Lady Cat’s Bethany Neale got her 1,000th career point with 21 seconds to go in the very first quarter of play on Laurel Hill’s home floor on Thursday, Dec. 11. She thoroughly demolished all comers before the night was over too, putting up 28 points on the night that saw Paxton crush the Lady Hoboes 65-36. Neale’s coach, Steve Williams, also made a bit of personal history, keeping a three-game winning streak going since crossing the 400-win mark earlier that same week.
The Lady Cats got their win in convincing fashion, as, aside from a sluggish second quarter in which Laurel Hill came within eight points of tying the score at 33-all, Paxton was simply rolling on their rivals. The Lady Hoboes used free-throws to stay in the game, outscoring Paxton 16-14 in the second period. However, that glimmer of hope for the Laurel Hill fans was short-lived, as Paxton’s defensive pressure forced untold turnovers while Neale pulled down rebound after rebound, then pounded the ball on the inside and drained 3s to reassert the Lady Cats’ dominance after halftime.
Paxton made 7-of-10 shots from the floor, matching its first-quarter score of 19 in the third quarter to go up 55-33 by the end of the period. That lead only extended as turnovers continued to beset the Lady Hoboes, leading to a running clock in the final three minutes of the game. Laurel Hill missed all but one foul shot in six attempts and scored just one field goal in the final quarter before Paxton got its win of nearly 30 points.
The boys game, played the next night, more than lived up to the thrilling reputation of past games in the 50-plus-year history of Paxton and Laurel Hill throwdowns, but the Bobcats got the win in the end – barely squeaking by at 69-64. The Hoboes never trailed by more than five points from halftime on, and the difference was down to one point with 24 seconds to go in the game. Nevertheless, Paxton kept their overall and District 1-A records spotless, setting the mark at 8-0, 5-0 to Laurel Hill’s still impressive 7-3, 3-1 standing.
The game was virtually settled by a timely rebound and a few crucial shots from the stripe from two parts of Paxton’s three-man high-score triumvirate. Zach Varnum (20 points on the night) and Desmond Moore put in the foul shots needed to lift Paxton to 69-64, out of range of a last-second strike from 3-point range, the preferred distance of Chris Saylor, who scored 18 points over the course of the game, mostly from the arch. Paxton’s own long-distance specialist, Grant Stewart did most of the heavy lifting in the first half, with five 3-pointers to his credit, on the way to 19 total points in the game, one better than Moore’s 18, though he scored only two points in the second half.
Paxton led 18-13 in the first quarter, but Laurel Hill cut the lead to 36-33 going into the halftime break and whittled it down to a 48-47 Bobcat advantage after Q3. Such was the situation Paxton found itself in all night, with Laurel Hill nipping at their heels, gunning to halt the Bobcat’s recent control of the 50-plus-year rivalry. The Hoboes tied the game at 58-all with 3:17 to go, but Moore kept them at bay with a steal and a layup before Varnum went to work drawing fouls and snatching down rebounds, while Paxton’s strong zone defense forced Laurel Hill to take longer and longer shots that were ultimately beyond making.
Look for even more fireworks when these teams clash again later this season, this time at Paxton’s place.
