Lady Tigers can’t overcome Frisco Liberty’s hot start

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of an error, the Texas High girls’ playoff game against Frisco Liberty on Friday night was omitted. The Gazette regrets the mistake)

WILLS POINT, Texas— Sometimes, the final score doesn’t tell the whole story.

That was the case for Texas High’s girls against Frisco Liberty on Friday night during their arearound matchup.

Frisco Liberty came out in the first quarter and shot the lights out, draining three treys, hitting all of its free throws and outscoring the Lady Tigers, 21-5, en route to a 60-45 victory at Wills Point High School.

No matter the defensive scheme, the Lady Redhawks could not miss from the floor and put Texas High at an early disadvantage that proved to be too hard to counter.

With the loss, THS was eliminated from postseason play and finished its season 26-6.

The Lady Redhawks (24-12) held Texas High scoreless for the first four minutes, and ended the quarter on a 7-0 run before the Lady Tigers could stop the bleeding in the second quarter.

“When a team is on fire like that it’s hard,” Texas High head coach Craig Collvins said. “Did we make mistakes in the first quarter? Sure. They drew the help the needed, and even when they were contested, they still hit their

shots.”

The second quarter played more evenly, with Sadeya Finley and Maranda Miller hitting a couple of quick jumpers to swing the momentum. Later in the period, The Lady Tigers seemed to be in full swing and scored eight straight points to cut into their deficit before going into halftime trailing, 37-19.

Antonia Porter, who got in foul trouble in the first half, helped surge Texas High back into contention in the third quarter, as she hit two of her treys, and went a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. She finished with a team-high 17 points, including four 3-pointers, and five rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

THS’ Mia Wilson pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, and Vicki Willis added five boards.

Frisco Liberty was led by sophomore Randi Thompson. The Lady Redhawk had game high’s in points and rebounds—19 points and 10 boards—to finish with a double-double.

“They came out and played well tonight. Hat’s off to them,” Collvins said. “We started playing our normal selves in the second half, but after that first quarter, we just couldn’t climb that hill.

“Our kids were resilient all season long, and we done some great things this year. Couldn’t be more proud of those kids”

Texas High will not be hurt by graduation in the offseason, as it had no seniors on the roster.

Texas High Frisco Liberty

THS (45): Morrison 1 0-0 2, Finley 1 0-0 2, Willis 1 0-0 2, Porter 4 5-5 17, McBride 1 1-2 3, Rone 3 1-3 7, M. Wilson 1 0-1 3, Dunn 2 0-0 5, Mitchell 1 0-0 2, Miller 1 0-0 2. TEAM TOTALS 15 8-10 45.

FL (60): Nayar 7 2-2 14, Lay 0 0-2 0, Glover 1 2-2 4, Casey 1 0-0 3, Johnson 2 0-0 5, Thompson 8 2-4 19, Burtch 1 0-0 3, Kurak 4 2-2 8. TEAM TOTALS 24 8-12 60.

3-Point Goals: THS-Porter 4, M. Wilson, Dunn. FL-Casey, Johnson, Thompson, Burtch. Fouled Out: THS-Porter.