Lady Dillos Hoops Dominates Way to State Semifinal Berth

For the first time since 2011 and the second time in program history, the San Saba High School girls varsity basketball team is headed to the upcoming UIL Class 2A State Championship tournament in San Antonio after the Lady Dillos stampeded their way with blowout victories over Hearne High School in the regional semifinal and Normangee High School in the regional final. San Saba Lady Dillos 60,

San Saba Lady Dillos 60, Hearne Lady Eagles 34

Despite a bit of a slow start to the game for San Saba, the Lady Dillos really got things cooking against the Hearne Lady Eagles in the second quarter and were able to cruise the rest of the way in a 60-34 win in the regional semifinal on February 25 at neutral site San Marcos High School.

In addition to the elite press defense that the Lady Dillos played on Friday night, San Saba got a great mix of interior scoring from its bigs as well as solid perimeter shooting to help pace themselves to another impressive postseason victory.

Despite leading by only a 11-6 margin at the end of the first quarter that was dominated by both team’s great defensive play, the Lady Dillos’ offense erupted as San Saba outscored Hearne 25-8 in the second quarter to take a commanding 36-14 lead into halftime. The Lady Dillos were able to keep the Lady Eagles at bay for the entirety of the second half.

In the win, the Lady Dillos were propelled by a fantastic game from senior center Nojemi Martinez with a game-high 16 points. Martinez was able to cause a lot of problems for the Hearne defense and was able to score in both the post as well as shoot the ball effectively from a distance. Fellow San Saba senior forward Landri Glover was also great for the Lady Dillos with 13 points and was a constant presence getting rebounds, while junior guard Lexy Amthor also scored in double figures with 11 points and junior teammate Madison Shahan added eight points of her own.

San Saba Lady Dillos 61, Normangee Lady Panthers 21

It was not much of a rematch of last season’s 55-19 victory for San Saba in the playoffs as the Lady Dillos used a sensational 27-0 opening quarter run to thrash the Normangee Lady Panthers 61-21 on Saturday afternoon in San Marcos. A jubilant San Saba girls squad was finally able to get over the hump in the regional final after making it this far the past six seasons.

Normangee, who had defeated San Saba’s district rival Mason High School 65-58 the previous day, was never able to recover from a perfect start to the game by the Lady Dillos.

Although San Saba had a tough second quarter to let Normangee eat away at their lead, the Lady Dillos still maintained a 20-point lead at 29-9 heading into halftime and were able to come out very strong in the second half to double that advantage to a 40-point win.

The Lady Dillos were led by yet another great game by Amthor, who led all scorers on the afternoon with a game-high 14 points. Nine of those points for Amthor came in the first quarter as San Saba put the game out of reach very early. The senior duo of Glover and Martinez each had 13 points for the Lady Dillos, while sophomore guard Jenna Lambert shined as a starter with her great hustle on both ends of the court as she finished with nine points.

Like in four of the five games this postseason for the Lady Dillos which ended up being lopsided victories, plenty of players on this San Saba team with great depth were able to get quality playing time in the second half of Saturday’s contest.

Under first-year head coach Chris Jost, San Saba has absolutely bulldozed its way through its opponents during the playoffs and has outscored its foes by an astonishing 325-146 scoring margin during those five contests against Charlotte High School, Yorktown High School, district rival Harper High School, Hearne, and Normangee.

Now with an outstanding 31-7 overall record for this storybook 2021-22 season, the Lady Dillos will represent Region IV and head to the Alamodome to take on undefeated Gruver High School at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, March 4, in the 2A state semifinal game. The 31-0 Lady Greyhounds made it to the state semifinal with postseason victories over Memphis High School, Olton High School, Panhandle High School, New Home High School, and Wellington High School.

Be sure to check out next week’s edition of the San Saba News & Star for more updates on Dillos and Lady Dillos varsity athletics. Sports editor Andrew Salmi can be contacted via email at salmi.courier@gmail.com or by cell phone at (818) 645-1115.