Lady Tigers triumph
“Shonda “We got it done. It was a hardfought game, but we got it done.” — Texas High coach Wilson
TEXARKANA, Texas — Texas High clinched a playoff berth and knocked Mount Pleasant from atop the district standings for the home Lady Tigers’ Senior Night game.
THS built a 10-point lead and then thwarted a comeback rally by the visiting Lady Tigers to claim a 48-45 win during Saturday’s District 15-5A girls game at Tiger Center.
Both teams finished 18-of-56 shooting for a 32 percent field goal percentage.
Texas High (10-9, 7-4) committed 10 of its 21 turnovers in the fourth quarter but won the overall rebounding battle, 50-40, including grabbing 28 boards in the second half, compared to just 12 by MP — A 16-rebound differential.
“It was a great win for us; we came in a little beat up from our game at Longview (Friday),” Texas High coach Shonda Wilson said. “After that aggressive game last night, I wasn’t sure how we were going to perform. We got it done. It was a hard-fought game, but we got it done.”
Tied at intermission, Mount Pleasant opened the third quarter with a 6-3 run, but Texas High scored nine consecutive points to grab a 36-30 lead with 1:04 left in the third. THS led 38-32 to start the fourth quarter.
After a bucket by MP to start the final quarter, Texas High scored six in a row to go ahead 44-34 with 6:20 remaining. The Texas High lead was back to six points with 2:40 left.
THS scored at 2:29, and Mount Pleasant scored the next five to get the score to 48-45 with 10 seconds left in the game. MP stole the inbounds pass, fired a 3-pointer, but it was off the mark.
Amari Morrison pulled down the rebound for her game-leading 13th rebound, but Mount Pleasant forced another quick turnover. Timeout was called with 2.3 seconds left.
Before a shot was launched, MP was called for traveling and its 20th turnover, ensuring the Texas High win.
Cashlin Gooden scored nine of her THS-leading 11 points in the second half. Jalyn Golette had nine points, and Ashanti Northcross, Emma Prince and Morrison had seven points apiece.
“There’s still some areas we need to clean up, like the turnovers,” Wilson said. “With 10 seconds left (in a timeout), I told them we just needed to get the ball in and take care of it; we didn’t have to score or even get it past half court. We just needed to take care of the ball.”
The teams traded bucket for bucket in the opening quarter, but the defenses made it difficult for either team to get in a rhythm. The lead changed seven times in the first quarter, and Texas High scored the final five points to go ahead 13-10 at the first break.
THS scored again to start the second quarter, going up 15-10, but Mount Pleasant knotted the score at 15 with 6:40 left in the half. Texas High responded with an 8-2 run to grab a 6-point lead (23-17).
Mount Pleasant scored the final five points of the half, over 1:10, to knot the score at 24 for intermission.
Jordan Hargrave led Mount Pleasant with 16 points, and Paris Beard contributed 15 points. Beard and Autumn Jackson each grabbed seven rebounds for the visitors.
Texas High won the junior varsity game, 34-28, with Anasia Wilcox scoring 11 points and Teiara Brown adding five for THS.
Prior to the game, THS seniors Ashlyn Stiger, Cashlin Gooden, Jacia Collins and Amari Morrison were recognized, as well as MP seniors Aunesti Brannon and Autumn Jackson.