Big Sandy staves off late Thunderbird rally to advance to semifinals

Big Sandy girls basketball head coach Robin Pearson picked up his first-ever District 9C tournament win on Wednesday afternoon.

It was far from a work of art and he has about a billion more before he catches his predecessor Roy Lackner. But Pearson will take any win all the same.

The third-seeded Pioneers overcame a poor shooting performance and survived a scare from the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, picking up a 52-39 win in first-round action at the HHS gymnasium.

"I just wanted to win that first won," a relieved Pearson said after the game. "We didn't very well. I don't think we shot 20 per...