Big Sandy girls basketball ends the 2025- 26 season as bi-district finalists after dropping a 33-10 game to Burton in Willis to Tuesday.
Burton is the No. 16 team in the state that holds a 30-5 record on the year.
“During the district, we had to slow the pace of the game down against other teams, especially teams that like to press,” Big Sandy coach Ryan Alec said. “We had to be very disciplined and we were able to do that this year. That was the same thing for us in Tuesday’s game against Burton.
“Burton started five players that were athletic and they were good basketball players, very skilled. Then, they were pretty deep on the bench.”
Alec said the Lady Panthers used the press throughout most of the game Tuesday. The Lady Cats mostly handled the press, but had a tough time scoring against a good defense.
“They played mainly a matchup-type zone,” he said. “We went over it in practice, trying to cover some things, but we just didn’t have a lot of success shooting the ball. It was hard for us to get open, just because of their length, size, and their quickness. It was really very difficult for us to get a shot up.
“We played about six players in that playoff game. So, we were pretty gassed by midway through the fourth. We were just kind of in desperation mode, trying to press a little bit and try to create some turnovers. Overall, girls played hard.”
The ‘Cats finish the season at 16-16 and fourth in district, making the postseason after losing important pieces from the team.
“I was proud of our kids throughout the whole course of the year. I thought in the second half of district, we really came together as a team. I thought we meshed together a lot. We played a lot of teams really close, and played Danbury very close, who was a co-district champion.”
Three seniors in Shanaya Poncho, Paige Cox and Amberlee Smith have been standouts in the program and will graduate at the end of the school year.
“My seniors, I’m sure going to miss them a lot. They mean a lot to our team. Their leadership was good for us. Unfortunately, Shanaya suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this year. She was a big part of our team. Everybody knows that; the team knows that. When she went down, that just took a lot out of the team. I felt terrible for her, because I know how much work she put in during the offseason to craft her skill and her game.
“And then Amberlee and Paige, they were just great leaders for us throughout the course of the year. They work hard and they set the example for others. All three of those girls, they’re going to do great things once they graduate school. The most that I can say about those girls is just the way they carry themselves and the manner I think people can follow in their footsteps. They’re great examples of what great leaders should be.”
