The Fort Stockton girls basketball team showed the future has the potential to be bright on Friday, Feb. 5 in the Prowlers final game of the season at Pecos.

After a slow start that featured only eight points scored in the first quarter, Fort Stockton finished the contest with an offensive flurry, scoring 38 points in the final three frames to get the 46-19 win.

Fort Stockton head coach Sherman Chew gave credit to his team’s defense for the 38-15 in terms of points scored in the last three quarters.

“I think that our defensive intensity picked up, and that allowed us to score little more efficiently on the offensive end,” he said. “. Our girls corrected the things we were doing wrong while trying to execute our offense. Once we made our adjustments, all we had to do was finish.”

The 27-point win was the Prowlers third district win of the season and their second biggest win of the season in terms of point margin outside a 28-point victory over the Eagles in their first meeting.

Chew also credited his team’s resiliency after Friday’s road game.

“We never faltered when we made mistakes, and everyone just pushed each other to be there best. Everyone wanted their teammates to make plays, and the cheers from our bench for each other showed just that,” he said. “I also like the execution of our offensive sets and the defensive effort of our team!’

The Prowlers top five scorers in the game were either sophomore or juniors - led by sophomore guard Brianna Diaz who finished with 12 points.

Junior Alyana Dominguez nearly recorded a double-double with a team-high 13 rebounds and seven points. The forward added an impressive six blocks to her stat line and a team-best three assists.

Lala Mata and Arial Smith added eight points apiece.

The quartet of players who will return next season along with Alexis Holmquist and Alexia Galindo, among others, has Chew feeling optimistic for next season. The firstyear head coach returns nearly his entire team after a 2020-2021 campaign that finished with a 7-18 record overall and a 3-7 record in district play.

The district record was good enough for a fifth-place finish in the Class 4A Region I District 2 six-team division.

“This was a season in which we knocked on the door of so many opportunities, and we hope to kick that door down next season. But we definitely improved with each game, and other coaches and even officials complimented the girls on how they improved as the season went,” Chew said. “Being as young as we were, I was also impressed with how much we learned this season. If we can just get some work in this off season, we should turn some of our defeats into wins next season. These Girls were a joy to coach this year, with great attitudes and work ethic that will help us improve our skill sets going forward.”