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Streaky momentum: Lady Bulldogs edge past scrappy Lady Leopards
BY Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
LUCAS -- Tuesday night's District 13-4A clash featured several unanswered runs by the McKinney North and Lovejoy girls before the Lady Bulldogs prevailed, 40-32.
"It was a physical, hard fought district game," said Michael Oldham, North head coach. "This is what it takes to win district championships, as you'll have some close ones like this. I'm proud of my kids for how they reacted. You've got to find ways to win when you only score 40 every once in a while and we did that tonight."
Momentum shifted wildly multiple times as North improved to 3-0 in district while Lovejoy fell to 2-1.
The game was tied, 32-32, in the final minute before North hit eight free throws, four from both Chanterria Jackson and Alexis Mason.
"At halftime that was pretty much the theme of our talk, getting to the paint, to the free throw line," Oldham said. "We only shot two in the first half. We knew that was a place we needed to get to, to open up the perimeter a little bit."
Defense ruled the opening quarter.
The Lady Leopards jumped out to a 4-0 lead, which served as the game's only points for the majority of the first. North made its first basket in the final three minutes. While it took a while for them to get rolling, when the Lady Bulldogs did get on the board, they were hard to stop.
North scored the next 12 to close the quarter up, 12-4. The run concluded with Mason making a 3-pointer from half court as time expired.
Mason and Jackson were pivotal to North's victory.
"Chanterria had mismatches all night, regardless of who was on her," Oldham said. "We ran a lot of isolation to her. And Mason handled the ball well when we needed it handled, and got a couple steals right when we needed them. She did her usual great job of running the team."
Lovejoy responded with a seven-point surge to pull within 12-11 on a layup by junior Stephanie Lewerenz late in the second. Lovejoy then tied it up with a minute remaining on a Lewerenz free throw. Junior Shani Rainey, sophomores Paige Eberhart and Samantha Odom also stood out for the Lady Leopards.
"I thought Paige shot the ball real well and Sam did a great job on the boards," Branch said. "Shani also did a good job staying aggressive. Overall, I'm pleased with our effort."
The Lady Bulldogs reclaimed the lead in the last 10 seconds as Jackson sank a jumper for the 14-12 North halftime lead.
"It's important to be consistent," Oldham said. "You don't get away with wins on the road like this very many nights. I kind of consider us a little bit lucky. We have to maintain our runs and our flow. It was a lot of in-bounding tonight, which isn't our style."
The roles were reversed in the third.
Just as North busted through for a strong finish to the first, Lovejoy went on a 9-0 run to start the third and take a 21-14 lead.
"We're a good team," Branch said. "They're learning a new system and I think our girls are starting to come together. Once we get the right pieces in the right order, we're going to be tough to compete with."
Jocelyn Scott scored North's first points of the second half on a pair of free throws. That sparked another Lady Bulldogs' run, this time an 8-0 streak to grab a 22-21 edge. North led, 24-21, heading into the fourth.
Free throws played a part again down the stretch in North's 40-32 victory.
"This type of game shows we've got a lot of character," Oldham said. "When times get tough, we're not going to quit. We're going to buckle down, play defense, rebound and win ugly if that's what we've got to do."
North looks to remain perfect at 6:30 p.m. Friday when it hosts Wylie. Lovejoy will be on the road at that time versus Denison.
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