As far as Saline head coach Chris Toms is concerned his team is 2-0 on year. Never mind that the Lady Bobcats entered this past week with a 4-14 record. That was how his Lady Bobcats finished the “first season.” Last Tuesday district play, or what is commonly referred to as the “second season” of LHSAA prep hoop play began, which for teams like Saline gives them a chance to change the way the season will be thought of.

There was a time not too long ago when games played before district play was viewed as tune-ups for the “meat” of the schedule as qualifying for postseason play and playoff seedings were determined by how you finished in district competition. In today’s world of power points what is done in district play doesn’t carry the weight it once did but other than winning a state title the sense of achievement that comes with winning a district is still predominant in the way a season is remembered.

Saline surged to the top of District 2C play by opening the “second season” with a pair of victories. In the first contest the Lady Bobcats won by the largest margin of the year, held an opponent to under 10 points for the first time since the 2015-16 season, AND tied a national record that can never be broken. In the second game, a new season high in scoring was reached.

Talk about changing one’s perspective of how the season has gone!

Saline 49 Atlanta 9: The first half ended with Saline leading 43-9. Even though Toms emptied his bench in the second half that was how many Atlanta ended the game. As result, the Lady Bobcats earned the distinction of being one of several teams that has their names etched in the national record books as not allowing any points in the second half.
The Gray twins, Alaya and Alana did most of the damage with 15 and 10 points respectively in just a little more than two quarters. X Lard added 8, Cenada Weathers chipped in with 6 and both Tyla Malone and Kacidy Sims finished with four each. Vivien Grete also added a basket in what amounted to the most lopsided win of the year for Saline.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Saline	17	21	13	10	63
Atlanta	2	7	0	0	9

Saline 63 Dodson 36: Saline went from setting a new defensive mark to posting a new season best in scoring against hapless Dodson. Alaya Gray continued her recent scoring binge by making four 3-pointers, including three in the first quarter, and finishing with a game-high of 18 points. Seven others assisted with the offensive onslaught, including twin sister Alana Gray who also reached “double digits” with 13 points, and Tyla Malone, Gabi Stewart, Rayaunnah Pearson, and Rachel Leggett who canned a trey each. X Lard added six, and both Sydney Thomas and Kacidy Sims made four each. The futility continued for Dodson, whose last win was exactly 13 months ago, and now has a 1-39 record over the last two years, including losing 15 straight this year.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Saline	17	21	13	10	63
Dodson	9	3	10	14	36

Bobcats’ erratic scoring continues in split of district games

Tracking the scoring for Saline since 2023 began shows more high and low marks than a Geiger counter during an earthquake. The Bobcats started the new year by giving head coach Klint Robinson a neat birthday gift by scoring his new age in a victory over Ouachita Christian out of Monroe  A few days later the Bobcats posted only 33 in a loss to Cedar Creek, the third-lowest scoring total of the year. This was followed by a season-high 71 points against Weston only to dip below the 40-point barrier again for the second time in the last three games in the district 2C opener against Atlanta this past Tuesday. Then on Friday, the Bobcats scored 65 which is the second-best total of the year. The result of the last two games was a split of the first two District 2C games of the year which gives Saline a 10-12 season record after opening the year by losing nine of their first ten games.

Atlanta 50 Saline 38: A balanced Bobcats scoring attack early on kept the game close over the first three quarters but with Saline down by three heading into the final frame all they could muster was one basket and two free throws allowing Atlanta to sneak away with only their 6th win in 23 contests. Will Dison led Saline with 12 and Wesley Crawford added 10 followed by Gavin Dailey with six. Shawn Staggs and Jacob Jones finished with three, D.J. Rager-Radley hit a basket and Maddox Williams checked in with a first-quarter free throw to round out the scoring.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Saline	12	9	13	4	38
Atlanta	14	11	12	13	50

Saline 65 Dodson 47: Coming to the aid of head coach Klint Richardson the recently erratic scoring Bobcats posted their second-best scoring total of the year. The early part of Friday 13th had truly been bad luck for Saline’s stricken leader as a visit to the doctor revealed he had the flu that would force him to miss the district contest. While it wasn’t a cure, the victory was better than what the doctor ordered to help him feel better.

It was probably a good thing that Robinson didn’t have to witness the first quarter as it certainly would have raised his temperature even higher. On the heels of scoring four points in the final quarter the game before, Saline was behind 13-6 after the first eight minutes of this one, managing only a three-pointer by Shawn Staggs and Wesley Crawford. Suddenly the scoring drought ended and the Bobcats started raining baskets drowning Dodson’s hopes of winning for just the third time this season. It was still a close 42-39 game heading into the fourth quarter but with seven players putting their names in the books Saline dominated the frame by a 23-8 margin

The ”get well” present was truly team inspired as ten players tallied in all led by Will Dison with 16 and both Crawford and freshman Gavin Dailey chipping in with 11 each. Staggs finished with nine and both Jacob Jones and Eli Ferguson had four. D.J. Rager-Ridley, Jer’Courtney Loyd, Jay Nash, and Nathan Peoples contributed two apiece.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	TOTAL
Saline (10-12, 1-1)	6	17	19	23	65
Dodson (2-15, 0-1)	13	11	15	8	47

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