4 days Ago By Thomas Bingham
LONGVIEW — Pine Tree hosted neighbor Hallsville during Tuesday night’s girls basketball non-district battle at the Pirate Center, and used a strong third quarter stretch to set up an eventual 46-34 home win. The Lady Pirates improved their 2024-2025 season record to 5-3 before they host Center starting at 6:15 p.m.
on Friday. The Ladycats, meanwhile, dropped their year mark to 0-6 before they travel for Friday’s 6 p.m.
road game at Pleasant Grove. Hallsville jumped out to an early 6-3 lead by the 3:21 mark of the first quarter because Hope Miles scored the game’s first four points and Angel Miles followed with her first basket. Pine Tree heated up during a 10-4 run because Jazmin Johnson and Aaliyah Oliver both produced four points and Jacky Barrera added two points.
That gave the Lady Pirates a 13-10 lead at the end of the period. Johnson and Oliver both led the Lady Pirates to victory with 11 points, T’Ajah Dennis earned nine points, and Lariya Bates followed with six points. Hallsville may have been down, but it wouldn’t be for long.
The Ladycats quickly went back to work to turn around their fortunes in the second quarter. Abbey Tarkington and Kennedy Thompson produced early second quarter baskets to take a 14-13 lead at the 6:30 mark. Pine Tree temporarily evened the score 14-14 when Dennis split a pair of free throw attempts at the 6:17 mark, but Hallsville earned its second four-point lead of the game after field goals by Ralee Boyd and Tarkington made it an 18-14 score by the 4:34 mark.
The Pirates turned to the three-ball again to stay in range. Oliver’s successful attempt first cut the gap to 18-17 at the 2:45 mark. Hallsville then took a 20-17 advantage during Miracle Wrighten’s long two-point shot at the 1:45 mark, but Pine Tree evened the score 20-20 during Johnson’s second three-point make with 55 seconds remaining in the first half.
Pine Tree then produced its best quarter stretch in the third. The Lady Pirates outscored Hallsville 13-2 thanks to Lariya Bates’ six points, Evelyn Holder’s three points, Dennis’ three points and Oliver’s free throw outmatched Ladycat free throws from Hope Miles and Wrighten. Hallsville started the fourth frame on an 8-7 run to cut the gap to 39-30 by the 4:23 mark, but Pine Tree still finished strong enough to earn a double-digit win by game’s end.
The Ladycats received a team-best nine points from Hope Miles and eight more from Tarkington in the loss..
