The Maiden basketball team will begin bi-district on Monday against Clint  at 7:30 p.m. in Fort Stockton. 

  The Maidens took the undefeated district title with an 83-35 final win over Andrews on Feb. 5.   “This year’s district is a lot easier,” junior guard Madison Carter said. “It’s going to be a lot harder in play offs. We haven’t really gone up against a hard team, so it’s going to be really challenging.” 

  To go deep in the play offs, the Maidens will need to meet tougher challenges from northern districts.

  “We practice on the weekends and after school,” freshman forward Bree Brattain said. “We need to focus more and work on getting the ball to each other and executing our plays.” 

  During district, Coach Leland Bearden picked up his 700th career win (77%). 

  “The credit goes to a lot of the girls,” Bearden said. “They spend a lot of time in the gym to get better.”  

  Bearden has continued to see improvement as the Maidens began to gel during the season. 

  “I would have to say that all the girls on the team have improved dramatically,” Bearden said. “They work very hard, are very athletic, and play great defense.”  

   Obstacles like Canyon High and Levelland await the Maidens after bi-district.

  “District was bad because they were all easy to beat,” sophomore post Taylor Carter said. “We need to step up our game and practice more defensive drills just in case the team we’re going up against uses a strategy we haven’t seen before.”

  Bearden sees the play offs as a reward the Maidens have earned.

  “I am hoping the girls play hard and have fun,” Bearden said. “These girls have been working hard all year long for this.” 

   The Maidens have relied on underclassmen throughout the season.

  “The underclassman have really stepped up, and we rely on them so much,” M. Carter said. “They are really good at passing the ball and getting it to the basket. Bree is our main scorer, and we try to get the ball to her as fast as we can.” 

  Brattain has averaged over 30 points a game during the season.

  “I wouldn’t get all of those scores if the team hadn’t helped me,” Brattain said. “I wouldn’t have gotten the ball without them passing it to me.”