And then there were none.
Starting the week, three Jackson County basketball teams were alive in the playoffs.
After Tuesday night’s games, all three had lost.
The Edna Cowgirls lost to the seventh-ranked Bishop Lady Badgers, 5653, in the Class 3A Division 1 regional semifinals at Corpus Christi Carroll High School Tuesday, and the Poth Pirates rolled by the Edna Cowboys, 75-44, Tuesday in the Class 3A Div. 2 Bi-District round at Cuero High School.
A day earlier, the Thorndale Bulldogs cruised past the Ganado Indians, 86-44, in the Class 2A Div. 1 Bi-District round at Giddings High School.
Although the boys’ games were not close, the Cowgirls had chances to win and advance to the regional championship.
“Our girls played really well, good enough to win the game,” Cowgirls Head Coach Dustin Durham said. “If the ball bounces our way a couple of more times, we could very well still be playing. Obviously, losing that game was tough, but I’m still really proud of how the girls played and what they accomplished this season.
“They are the first Edna team to make the regional semifinals since 2009. That’s something those girls will remember forever.”
Senior Shanti Guerra led the team with 17 points, senior Bella Plotini scored 16, and junior Keira Santellana had 13.
Plotini and Santellana also had nine rebounds each.
The Lady Badgers were able to handle the Edna press and deny the Cowgirls the steals and turnover baskets that they generated throughout the season, Durham said.
“We couldn’t really get the steals we normally get,” Durham said. “They did a really good job of protecting the ball.”
Edna finished the season at 26-11 overall.
For the Cowboys, a scoring lapse in the second quarter opened the door for Poth to take control, Edna Head Coach Sheldon Moor said.
“We played a really decent quarter-and-a-half to get the game going, and they just got hot and we went cold,” Moor said.
“The kids fought and played hard until the end.” Poth led 20-13 heading into the second quarter and built a commanding 43-20 halftime advantage.
The Cowboys fought to cut the lead to 18 by the start of the fourth quarter, but the Pirates kept them at bay by outscoring Edna 19-6 to seal the win.
Kalub Caesar led the team with 14 points, Braylen Harris scored 12, Brady Peters and Braiden Hernandez added eight each, and Dedrick Humphrey and Adrian Boston each added a free throw.
“I think Braylen finished looking like Mike Tyson, bleeding out of his mouth, all over his jersey,” Moor said. “Kalub Caesar played a good game and fouled out late in the fourth. Dedrick Humphrey played really good on the defensive end of the court. He played some good minutes on defense for us.
“We got some younger kids some experience in the second half that hadn’t been up on varsity before.
Adrian Boston got his first varsity bucket.”
The Cowboys finished the season 9-10 and in fourth place in district.
In other girls’ playoff games involving district teams, Tidehaven continued to roll, crushing George West, 61-26, in the Class 3A Div. 2 regional semifinals on Monday, setting up a showdown with Jourdanton in the Region 4 championship.
Columbus, the other District 25-3A team to reach the regional semis, lost to No. 7 West Oso on Tuesday, 71-41, to end its season, leaving the Tigerettes as the last district team still playing. But the Tide’s roll ended in a 4236 loss to Jourdanton in the Div. 2 regional finals.
In Class 2A, Flatonia powered past Johnson City, 68-38, in the Div. 1 regional semifinals to set up a regional final against San Saba, but Flatonia lost, 65-46.
The other remaining District 28-2A team, Weimar, lost to Goldthwaite, 38-33, in the Div. 2 regional semifinals.
In boys Bi-District games, Columbus beat Goliad, 72-63, in Class 3A Div. 1 Bi-District to set up an Area game against Randolph, which the Cardinals won, 83-71, while Yoakum lost to Luling, 52-48. In Class 3A Div. 2, Rice Consolidated beat Stockdale, 50-42, and lost in Area to No. 8 San Antonio Cole, 57-48.
Flatonia beat Holland, 57-43, in Class 2A Div.
1 Bi-District and but lost to No. 15 Hearne, 78-46, in Area. In Div. 2 Bi-District games, Weimar beat Granger, 42-40, but lost to No. 3 Evadale, 65-37, in Area, and Milano beat Shiner, 62-52, in Bi-District.
The girls and boys playoff brackets are available on the UIL website at https://www.uiltexas.org/ basketball/playoff-brackets and are updated regularly.
