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Looking back: The best of everything we couldn't get to last week

hart pisani, amarillo globe-news
·4 min read
Tascosa’s Daizjia Oages (2) advances up the court in a non district game against Childress, Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at Tascosa High School in Amarillo. Tascosa won 49-23.
Tascosa’s Daizjia Oages (2) advances up the court in a non district game against Childress, Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at Tascosa High School in Amarillo. Tascosa won 49-23.

There's a part in the 2002 movie "Black Hawk Down" where a soldier calls for reinforcements. Two guys show up and the soldier asks, "Where are the reinforcements?" One of the guys responds, "We're it."

By now you've probably noticed the byline "Hart Pisani" is the one that seems to pop up the most frequently in the sports section. Since the end of October, I've been the only full-time sports reporter here at the AGN. That probably won't be the case forever, but it will continue to be the case moving forward for now.

Don't feel bad for me, but do feel bad for my cat.

I'm only telling you so you know that, yes, I know there were some things that happened last week that we didn't get to. That's why we've decided to introduce a new series called Looking Back. I'm not married to that name (or to anyone else, just so the ladies know), but I am committed to making sure y'all get all the information about local sports you can.

Now that my intro and series of dumb jokes are out of the way, lets take a look back at everything we couldn't get to last week.

Big week for Tascosa

One person has already asked me in person why there wasn't anything about the Lady Rebels' basketball team last week. I was at another game the night they made history, but I couldn't start this series without shouting out what they were able to pull off last week.

The Lady Rebels pulled off a major 53-50 upset of Amarillo High, which was ranked No. 3 in all of Class 5A at that time. That on its own would be noteworthy, but what makes the accomplishment all the more special was that it was the first time the Tascosa girls had beaten the Lady Sandies in 14 years.

The last win for Tascosa came on February 3, 2009.

AHS head coach Jeff Williams said the Lady Sandies lost to Tascosa twice that year and hadn't lost to them since then until last Tuesday. It's a huge accomplishment for a Tascosa team that's already showing tremendous progress under new head coach Chris Sumrall.

That wasn't the only big news for Tascosa. Former standout basketball player Shahada Wells put up a career-best college performance for the TCU men's team. He scored 17 points in 21 minutes on the road against Kansas in a big day.

Finally, legendary running back King Doerue announced that he's entered the transfer portal and will be leaving Purdue. Doerue will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Sensational Sanchez

Randall’s Sadie Sanchez (12) drives the ball in a District 4-4A game against Canyon, Friday, January 6, 2023, at Randall High School Gym in Canyon. Canyon won 47-37.
Randall’s Sadie Sanchez (12) drives the ball in a District 4-4A game against Canyon, Friday, January 6, 2023, at Randall High School Gym in Canyon. Canyon won 47-37.

Sadie Sanchez has been on an absolute tear this season. Anytime we speak with Randall head coach Brooke Walthall, she's quick to point out that it's a team sport and the rest of the Lady Raiders are playing strongly as well.

Still, you have to give props to Sanchez, who hit a new career milestone.

The sophomore guard scored her 1,000th career point last week. She's rising on the school's all-time scorer list with two full seasons and the rest of this one to go. It's a big honor worthy of kudos.

Astonishing Asha

Asha James (17) dribbles past Naomi Sink (26) during WT's contest against Texas A&M-Commerce at The Pitch in Canyon.
Asha James (17) dribbles past Naomi Sink (26) during WT's contest against Texas A&M-Commerce at The Pitch in Canyon.

Okay, okay, technically this one happened two weeks ago. We couldn't get through this without mentioning that West Texas A&M now has yet another professional athlete among its alumni.

Asha James, who just wrapped up her collegiate career with the Lady Buffs' soccer team, has signed with Valadares Gaia FC in the Portuguese Women's League. The signing was announced following the conclusion of the NWSL Draft in which James went unselected.

James was simply outstanding during he time in Canyon. In 52 career games, she compiled 29 goals and 13 assists.

Now, she'll be taking her talents overseas.

Quick hits

  • Panhandle quarterback Landyn Hack announced his commitment to play college football for WT. A huge pickup for head coach Josh Lynn and his staff.

  • We hope to get into more wrestling soon, but for now just know that Bushland's Boaz Wright took first place at the 157-pound spot at a meet in Vernon over the weekend. Jesse Rodriguez of Pampa took home second place in his respective weight class in the Red River Classic as well.

  • The Texas Tech Invitational took place last weekend for track and Randall's Nathan Baker ran a 6.93 in the 100m dash.

Hart Pisani is a sports reporter for the Amarillo Globe-News. He can be reached at sports@amarillo.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Looking back: Tascosa enjoys stellar win under Chris Sumrall, Randall’s Sanchez continues ascent as scorer