Scraping and clawing: Lady Wildcats survive Allen, 49-47

Plano Senior girls basketball head coach Lynn Meger admitted Friday's matchup against Allen worried her.

Whether it was going on the road to face a Lady Eagles squad desperate for a win or concerns of any potential hangover following Tuesday's victory over Plano West, Meger's fears would prove warranted.

But ultimately, it wasn't enough to knock Plano (20-6, 5-0) from its perch atop District 10-5A after taking a narrow 49-47 victory over the Lady Eagles (18-10, 1-4).

"I don't think we necessarily played with a lot of focus," Meger said. "I was worried about that because Allen's a good team and they're much better than their record."

It marked Plano's closest win since Dec. 21 against Flower Mound and a victory that came with its share of momentum swings in the fourth quarter.

From the get-go, Allen sophomore McKenzie Martin drained a 3 within the quarter's first 20 seconds for a 41-40 Lady Eagles lead. Martin had just sunk a 3-ball to close out the third frame but, despite steadily seizing control, Allen was never able to fully capitalize.

"We saved our man for the fourth quarter, hoping we still had our starters available," Meger said. "I was having to trade out a lot of offense for defense tonight, just for mental reasons and maybe from carryover from Tuesday."

Plano forced three turnovers before Allen's next score as the Lady Wildcats nudged back in front at 43-41 following free throws by senior Wilma Afunugo. The teams would tie three more times, with Allen junior Ericka May drawing it even at 47-47 following a bucket with 1:00 left. Afunugo later drew a foul and made 1-of-2 free throws for a 48-47 edge with 30 seconds to play. The Lady Eagles' answer went awry and Plano junior Haley Shearer added on another free throw with 3.5 seconds left for the final count.

"I thought our effort and hustle were there tonight," said Sean Weibling, Allen head coach. "I thought we got the stops we needed on offense down the stretch and I thought we did a really good job answering their runs."

Plano held a two-point lead after each frame.

In a game of runs, the teams wound up on even ground by quarter's end except for the opening stanza when the Lady Wildcats weathered an early 5-0 hole and three Allen 3-pointers for a 17-15 edge. Seniors Grace Mitchell and Binna Kim got the Lady Wildcats going offensively, scoring 15 and 11 points, respectively. Mitchell added seven rebounds as she and Afunugo, who had 14 points and 10 boards, cleaned up down low.

Allen countered with senior Rachel Piles, who returned from injury to grab 14 boards and score six, while May and Martin each dropped 13 points in the 49-47 loss.

The Lady Eagles trailed by as many as eight on two separate occasions in the second and third quarters but closed the second on a 6-0 run to trail at halftime, 25-23, and the third with a 13-7 advantage to draw within 40-38.

"With good teams like this, there are going to be runs," Weibling said. "We have to sustain our runs and limit theirs. It's easy for a four-point deficit to turn into eight with turnovers or bad decisions, and I thought we did a good job of limiting that."

Allen's district losing streak hit five Tuesday night as the Lady Eagles were defeated by Plano East, 49-44.

The schedule doesn't get any easier Friday as Allen is on the road against No. 9 state-ranked Plano West at 6 p.m.

For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.

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