Westside girls overpower Kempner to advance to Class 6A quarterfinals; Foster stays alive in 5A.
The best shot the Westside girls basketball team could manage against Kempner as the first quarter wound down was several feet outside the threepoint arc.
Indicative of the Wolves’ shooting touch much of the night, Helena Johnson hit nothing but net. The senior hit seven threes, four in the first quarter alone, as Westside defeated Kempner 6844, at Delmar Field House.
Johnson led all scorers with 21 points to propel Westside’s hot start. Jordon Lewis and Kayla Pilson added early threes as the Wolves built a 25-8 advantage early in the second quarter.
“It’s uncanny to hit that many threes in a row and from that many different people,” Westside coach Troy Gillespie said. “Of course No. 5 ( Johnson) is always out there raining them down, and I expect that out of her. Kempner did such a great job attacking us and getting us on our heels. If we hadn’t hit those early three, I don’t know what that game would’ve been.”
District 18-6A champion Westside, ranked No. 21 in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, advanced to the Region III-6A quarterfinals to face No. 4 Jersey Village, the District 17-6A champion.
The Wolves improved to 30-5 as Jessica Soders (16 points), Pilson (11) and Lewis (11) all reached double figures.
Soders added 11 rebounds, while Lewis had eight assists and Pilson made several second-half steals to help put the game away.
Kempner (20-15) was led by Mariam Yaro’s 11 points, with Jaiden Eaton adding 10 and Noella Nkola scoring eight. Alleah Dallas contributed a five-point run in the third quarter that helped bring the Cougars within 39-29, but Johnson answered with a trio of threes.
The Cougars concluded a memorable season, highlighted by a convincing 4728 triumph against District 19-6A runner-up Katy Taylor in the bi-district playoffs. It was Kempner’s first postseason win since 1995.
Westside returns to the third round, looking to join the 2015 squad as regional tournament qualifiers. Gillespie said that regional finalist was something of a surprise, given a barrage of injuries.
The current group has been working all four years to get back.
“This group came in as freshmen and most of them were in together,” Gillespie said. “We brought up six or seven freshmen. It’s been a lot of growing pains to get to this point, but watching this maturation now, I just want to get a college job and take them all with me.”
FOSTER 63 GOOSE CREEK 53
The Foster girls are headed to the regional quarterfinals for the second time in school history, joining the 2011 squad as area champions.
The Falcons, the No. 3 seed from a tough District 24-5A, eliminated District 22-5A champion Goose Creek Memorial with the victory. Foster routed Sterling 67-17 in the bi-district round.
Micayla Hamilton (23 points) and Sharlyne Dimalanta (21) led Foster offensively, with Alicia Blanton amassing 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Ranked No. 17 in the state, Foster (31-7) built a 3222 halftime lead and was up by 11 on a Dimalanta jumper when the Patriots rallied.
Jordan Walker’s three sparked a 10-0 run, with free throws by Kortney Wright cutting the Foster advantage to one early in the fourth quarter.
But Hamilton’s three and driving layup reclaimed the momentum.
Blanton’s three-point play produced a 53-42 lead and the Falcons were on their way to the third round.
Up next is a rematch with District 24-5A champion Hightower, ranked No. 5 in the state.