Longview Girls Keep Pine Tree In Check For 18th Win Of The Season

LONGVIEW -- There's a new team to beat in District 15-5A.

It's Longview. The Lady Lobos opened Friday's league game against crosstown rival Pine Tree on an 11-1 run, staved off comeback effort in the third quarter and rolled to a 57-35 win at Lobo Coliseum.

The victory moved Longview to 18-1 overall and 3-0 in district play.

"We've talked a long time with these seniors about leaving a legacy," head coach Keith Smith said. "I think they want to. We've got a good start going. We're not even halfway done with district though, so we've got to stay the course."

Pine Tree was held to two players in double-digit scoring, Sky-Lynn Holmes and Kabreshia Orange, and two players with one made free throw apiece. The team shot 11 of 42 from the field and committed 19 turnovers.

Longview, meanwhile, put together a well-rounded attack.

Ravan Chism led the Lady Lobos with a game-best 19 points. She also picked up six rebounds and four assists.

Chandler Peoples and Mikayla Smith rounded out top scorers for Longview with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

"Ravan knocked down some big ones that kind of got us going," Keith Smith said. "She got some big ones when we really needed them, too. They pulled it to six in the third quarter and I thought she was the inspiration we needed there to kind of get going."

It was a game of runs.

Longview jumped way out from the opening tip with Chism's made layup on the game's first possession and the team hit four of its first seven shots for the early 11-1 advantage. It leveraged that run for a 26-18 lead at halftime.

Pine Tree broke the ice in the second half with Sky-Lynn Holmes' two-point shot at the 5:39 mark of the third quarter and had the arrow on a jump ball on Longview's next trip down the floor. Orange hit 3-point shot to cut the Lady Lobos' lead down to 26-23.

Longview scored the next three buckets on attempts from Aisja Gray, Mikayla Smith and Chism, but Pine Tree stayed within striking distance with another 3-pointer from Orange for a 34-26 score at the end of the third frame.

The Lady Lobos opened the fourth quarter on a 10-1 run, however, with five points from Chism during the stretch and closed the game.

"It's a team we hadn't beaten in a couple of years and it was a good win," Keith Smith said. "It's always good to beat a crosstown rival and, on top of that, it was a district game. We're excited about that."

By nature of the win and prior victories against Sulphur Springs and Hallsville, Longview will own at least a share of first place heading into the district's Tuesday slate of games.

Next up for Pine Tree is Marshall. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday inside the Pirate Center.

The Lady Lobos will try to keep their district record unblemished Tuesday when they travel to Greenville for a 7:30 p.m. tip. The team will then travel to Marshall for a game on Jan. 9.

"Next week will be good," Keith Smith said. "Everybody will be back in school and we'll be in more of a routine. Two away games next week. They're all big now."

Longview 57, Pine Tree 35

District 15-5A Game

At Lobo Coliseum, Longview

Pine Tree                        7    11     8      9   --   35
Longview                      15    11     8    23   --   57

Pine Tree -- Sky-Lynn Holmes 18, Kabreshia Orange 15; Davina Jeffrey 1; Abi Skeeler 1.
Longview -- Ravan Chism 19; Chandler Peoples 14; Mikayla Smith 13; Nyelan Powell 7; Aisja Gray 4.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Pine Tree: Orange (4). Longview: Chism, Powell.