New Gans Lady Grizzlies coach Bobbie Wheat won her first game with her new team as the Lady Grizzlies won their first game of the 2025-26 season with a 54-42 win over the Keota Lady Lions in a Riverside Conference game Friday night at Bryant “Big Country” Reeves Fieldhouse.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak to begin the season for the Lady Grizzlies, who lost 71-37 at Okay on Dec. 1 and fell 49-23 to Gore at home on Dec. 2.
It was a tough start to the new season for the Grizzlies as they lost all three games on opening week — losing 87-10 at Okay, falling 64-26 to Gore at home and suffering a 52-44 loss to Keota at home.
In the girls’ win over Keota, the Lady Grizzlies (1-2) jumped out to a 15-7 lead after a quarter en route to a 31-22 halftime advantage and a 44-31 lead going into the final period.
For the game, Skilynn Bird scored a game-high 27 points to lead Gans, followed by Nora Barnes with eight points, MaKinzie Kimble with seven points, Madi Pilkington with six points, Valan Harper with four points and Yasenia Gaona with two points.
In the girls’ loss to Okay, the Lady Mustangs jumped out to a 20-4 lead after a quarter en route to a 38-11 halftime advantage and a 55-24 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Bird scored 14 points and Barnes added 12 points to lead the fans, followed by Brighton Dorsey with three points and Pilkington, Gaona, Harper and Makenzy Hunter with two points apiece.
In the girls’ loss to Gore, the Lady Pirates led 18-2 lead after a quarter, 26-7 at halftime and 41-11 after three periods.
In defeat, Barnes shared game-high honors for the Lady Grizzlies with 13 points, followed by Bird with six points and Hunter and Amarys White with two points apiece.
In the boys’ loss to Okay, the Mustangs jumped out to a 23-2 lead after a quarter and were never headed.
In defeat, Austin Hines scored four points to lead the Grizzlies (03), while Bryce Stevens, Preston Moore and Jessie Phillips scored two points apiece.
In the boys’ loss to Gore, the Pirates led 14-6 after a quarter, which became a 36-14 advantage at halftime and a 56-19 lead going into the final period.
In defeat, Hines scored seven points to lead Gans, followed by Stevens with five points, Preston Bennett and Brayden Bradley with three points each and Phillips, Eli Blackmon, Lucas Flute and Leland Locust with two points apiece.
In the loss to Keota, the Lions clawed their way to an 18-7 lead after a quarter and a 30-15 halftime advantage. The Grizzlies doubled the Lions 16-8 in the third period to cut their deficit to 38-31 entering the fourth quarter but got no closer.
In defeat, Hines scored 15 points and Stevens added 13 points to lead Gans, followed by Aiden Garcia with seven points, Blackmon, Phillips and Locust with two points each and Preston Bennett with a free throw.
