Johnson City defeated Junction 48-24 and Harper 49-48 to improve to 3-1 in district play, highlighted by Junior Brooke Hobbs’s 1000th career point. With the pair of wins, the Lady Eagles moved past San Saba in the standings to take second place in the district.
Coming off the tournament in Lubbock, Johnson City got back to work in district play on New Year’s Eve against Junction. The Lady Eagles took an early lead and didn’t look back as they won decisively. The game ended the second and final mid-season break as head coach Chris Schlicke and Johnson City look toward the next month of district play.
“We’re trying to find that groove back after being out for a little bit,” Schlicke said. “I thought we shot the ball well once we found gaps and once we found our plan.”
Johnson City allowed just six points in the first quarter against Junction as it built a 13-6 lead and added on another 12 points in the second quarter for a 25-12 halftime advantage.
Johnson City continued to add on to build the decisive 48-24 final score with 11 points in the third quarter and 12 in the fourth. Senior Jackie Earley led the Johnson City scoring effort with 14 points. Hobbs scored 11 points, including her career 1000th point, on a two-point shot in the third quarter.
“I knew by my sophomore year I wanted to hit a thousand in my junior year,” Hobbs said. “I’m really happy that my work paid off and I was finally able to accomplish
Johnson City welcomed 2025 with a home game against Harper last Friday. The Lady Eagles took the game by a single point.
“As much of a gauntlet as our district has been in, I think our eyes are on the next opponent, and that’s Harper,” Schlicke said prior to Friday’s game. “We will take care of whatever we have to take care of after that.”
The two wins on both sides of the New Year earned Johnson City (3-1) a halfgame lead over San Saba (21) in the district standings, good for second place overall. Goldthwaite (3-0) currently leads the district with a half-game lead over the Lady Eagles. Johnson City has already lost one game against San Saba, but still hosts the second leg of that series on Jan. 21. Both meetings with Goldthwaite are still on the schedule as well.
“We take each step, day by day, and try and go 1-0 each time that we come out and play a game in our district,” Schlicke said. “That’s what’s going to get us to our final product of where we want to be.”
