Lady Tigers’ late rally stymied for first district loss
Texas High’s late rally just wasn’t enough.
The Lady Tigers pulled within a bucket in a battle of District 16-5A unbeatens, but fell short as Sulphur Springs held on in the final seconds for a 47-44 win Friday at the Tiger Center.
Down 41-29 after three, the Tigers outscored the Lady Wildcats, 15-6, in the final quarter. Kerrighan Dunn led the late charge, scoring seven of her team-high 10 points down the stretch, and Sulphur Springs didn’t score until 3:16 left in the game to stop the bleeding.
Sulphur Springs (19-3, 5-0) only made one shot by Sadavia Porter in the fourth quarter, but went 4 of 6 from the charity stripe to seal the deal. Porter finished with a game-high 16 points and teammate Kaylee Jefferson added 10.
Texas High (16-5, 3-1) took its first— and only—lead late in the first quarter after Sadeya Finley connected on her only score of the game with 1:43 ticks remaining. The Tigers would lose the lead shortly after in the second quarter, as Sulphur Springs went on an 8-2 run to go into halftime with a 23-15 edge.
Kye Morrison and Mia Wilson, who drained two treys, each finished with eight points for the Tigers.
Texas High’s junior varsity came out strong in the second half after coming out of intermission down, 11-8, to take the 20-13 win over the Lady Wildcats, with Amari Morrison leading the Tigers with seven points.
In the ninth-grade game, the Lady Tigers came out on the losing side in a hardfought contest, falling to Sulphur Springs, 57-55. Kate Womack hit the game-winning shot with three seconds left, and Cashlin Gooden led the Lady Tigers with 14 points.
Texas High will continue district play when it hosts Greenville on Jan. 12, with its slate of games beginning at 5 p.m.