Lady Pirates earn first playoff victory since 2008

By Jacob Stock

Yorktown News-View

It was a memorable night last Tuesday, Feb 15, for the Nordheim Lady Pirates and head coach Randy Castillo. The Lady Pirates tipped off the first round of the playoffs in a Bi-District matchup against the Dime Box Longhorns in Flatonia. Nordheim sailed in as the #2 seed out of District 30-1A, on a quest for their first playoff victory since the 2008 season when they defeated Tilden, 47-45.

From the jump, it was the presence of senior, Emagen Styra, on both ends of the court that gave Nordheim the early lead. “She did a great job on defense, protecting the paint, and getting some rebounds for us. Down low on offense she had the mismatch, they really didn’t have anyone to guard her. We just kept feeding her the ball, if it’s working then keeping going to it,” Castillo noted. With the help of freshman Abby Klein’s hustle on defense, and the Lady Pirates' lone three-pointer at the beginning of the game, the Lady Pirates took an 18-17 lead to the half. Dime Box would close the first half on a 5-0 run. The Longhorns would continue to stay hot from the field early in the third, leading by their largest margin on the night, seven points, 31-24. Nordheim, faced with adversity with just ten minutes left to play, would close the third quarter on a 5-0 run to head to the fourth quarter trailing by one possession, 31-29. To start the fourth, a big Styra bucket to tie would get the crowd behind the Lady Pirates. A Danielle Wilson layup would give the Lady Pirates the lead, 33-31, capping a 9-0 run. Down the stretch, Nordheim would cling to a one-possession lead that grew after a Kristiana Lopez steal and assist to Abby Klein for a layup. With 30 seconds left to play, Rebecca Holley would be fouled sending her to the free-throw line. She would split the pair giving Nordheim a 43-40 lead. A Klein steal on the inbounds would seal the deal for the Lady Pirates giving them the Bi-District championship over Dime Box 43-40.

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