DIBOLL — The Pineywoods Community Academy Lady Wolves put together two big scoring runs — one each in the second and third quarters — and used those to hold on for a 48-43 win over Diboll’s Lady ’Jacks Tuesday night in Diboll.

Struggling throughout the weekend, the Lufkin Lady Panthers’ soccer team found itself 30 minutes away from going winless in its own showcase. Ten minutes and four goals later, those frustrations were a distant memory as the Lady Panthers hit their stride just in time for a 5-1 victory over t…

Luis Flores delivered his third hat trick of the season as the Lufkin Panthers remained unbeaten with a 3-1 win over the Tyler Legacy Red Raiders in the championship game of the Longview tournament Saturday afternoon.

TYLER — After dropping district openers on Tuesday, both Lufkin and Tyler wanted to get into the win column on Friday.

HUNTINGTON — Diboll’s Lumberjacks used a 21-point first quarter and a relentless transition game to hammer Huntington’s Red Devils 72-48 Friday in Huntington, taking over sole possession of first place in District 21-3A.

The Lady Wolves built as much as a 12-point lead at home Friday night but had to hold on for a 66-64 win over the Hemphill Lady Hornets on homecoming night Friday.

As the regular season winds down, local teams are going after playoff positioning as well as district titles.

A tough Tuesday night left the Lufkin Panthers and Lady Panthers on the wrong end of the ledger in District 16-5A basketball action. They’ll look to bounce back when they resume action against Tyler High tonight.

It was a rough opening night at the Lady Panther Showcase for the host team as Lufkin dropped a 9-0 decision to the Longview Lady Lobos.

On a night where every basket was a struggle, it was a rare game where it seemed like the team with the last defensive stop would get the win. Unfortunately for the Lufkin Panthers, that final stop came from a scrappy group of Whitehouse Wildcats.

HUDSON — Hudson’s Lady Hornets on Tuesday earned their first district win in nearly two years, and they did so in highly impressive fashion.

Alyssa Fielder scored 16 points and the Huntsville Lady Hornets led from wire-to-wire in handing the Lufkin Lady Panthers a 45-33 setback in District 16-5A hoops action at Panther Gym Friday night.

POLLOK — Central’s Lady Bulldogs bounced back from their first district loss of the season on Tuesday with a convincing win over Pineywoods Community Academy on Friday.

A playoff spot is almost never won in the first week of the schedule, but it can certainly become an uphill battle.

With just over a month left until the end of the regular season, several local teams are gearing up for postseason runs.

HUNTINGTON — The Huntington Devilettes and the Central Lady Dogs on Tuesday played like a pair of teams undefeated in district play.

The Lufkin Lady Panthers made up for a tough offensive night with a lights-out defensive performance before settling for a 0-0 tie in the season opener at Jase Magers Soccer Field Tuesday night.

The start of a new season always has players dreaming big. Following up on those aspirations is what eventually leads to success.

Winners of seven of their last eight games, the Lufkin Panthers had done much of their damage by keeping games close early and making the plays down the stretch.

Christian Mumphery led the Panthers with 12 points before using his passing to lead a game-closing 11-2 run as Lufkin surged for a 53-46 win over the Livingston Lions in non-district basketball action at Panther Gym Tuesday afternoon.

It was one of the strangest seasons in high school history even before teams took the field.

In a year filled with obstacles, the Lufkin Panthers put together a strong finish in advancing to the playoffs for the 23rd straight season. Several of those players were honored as the 8-5A DI All-District Team was recently announced.

Hosting a College Park team that had scored at least 80 points in four of their last six games, Lufkin head coach J.T. McManus knew the Panthers needed to force the Cavaliers into a pace that was more in their favor.

Preslie Turney had herself quite a week.

Huntington’s Blaine Trekell got his first shot at varsity football back when he was a freshman. Coaches called him up at the time, he says, because “they wanted to get a look at me and see what I could do.”

Even with a different feel, the Panthers had another big day on early National Signing Day as five Lufkin players inked on to continue their football careers at the next level.

Since stepping on the field as a freshman, Lufkin’s Skyla Valdez has had the gift of finding the back of the net as she was the team’s top goal scorer in each of her first two seasons on the soccer field.

After a long offseason, Spencer Alexander and Reid Hensley are ready to get back on the field for the Lufkin Panthers.

With a double-digit lead in hand and another victory a mere formality, Lufkin’s Brandon Walker elevated for a dunk for a final exclamation point for the Panthers.

Preslie Turney reached the milestone of 1,000 points and Carigan Hudnall had 13 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists as the Central Lady Bulldogs opened District 21-3A action with a 73-19 win over the Corrigan-Camden Lady Bulldogs in Central Tuesday night.

Matched up against a district that featured two perennial state powerhouses, 8-5A DI knew it would have a pair of tough matchups in the first round.