Sports > Schools
Rout 66: Plano West closes pool play with 25-point win over Sherman
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
The Plano West girls basketball team played one of its poorer eight-minute stanzas in the third quarter Friday afternoon against Sherman.
The Lady Wolves made up for it in the final eight minutes.
Forcing turnovers, dominating the glass and scoring at will in transition, West doubled up Sherman (22-11) to complete a 66-41 victory over the Lady Bearcats and 3-0 run through pool play at the Collin County Roundball Classic.
"Sometimes we get more excited for some teams than we do for others, so I'd say this definitely wasn't our best game," said Don Patterson, West head coach. "Give credit to Sherman for that too though; they are really quick and a tough little team."
That showed in the third quarter.
Facing a 33-16 halftime deficit, Sherman opened the third with a 3-pointer from Sa'Liesha Hunter. Hunter scored nine points on the afternoon, trailing only the 10 points of Ashley Crockett (who also led the team with six rebounds) on the Lady Bearcats' scoring ledger. Sherman appeared more confident throughout the quarter and cut down on their turnovers to pull within 44-30 at the end of the frame.
"Today, we just seemed a little off," said Natalie Chou, West freshman.
Chou helped change that in the fourth as West opened the final frame on a 12-2 run with the majority of those baskets coming from Chou, who led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds.
"I started to play more aggressive in the second half," Chou said.
Patterson concurred.
"Natalie really went into attack mode there in the second half," he said. "She was able to consistently get to the basket and finish for us."
That was apparent when Chou pulled down a board and went coast to coast for a layup to make it 53-32. Senior Devri Owens, who had 13 points and five rebounds, followed with a 3-pointer to closes West's 12-2 run.
Sherman wouldn't respond with its first field goal of the quarter until 3:09 remained.
Similar offensive woes plagued Sherman in the first half, but for an entirely different reason as the Lady Bearcats turned the ball over 20 times in the first 16 minutes.
"We were able to try some different presses," Patterson said, "and I think we did some things pretty well today."
West led after the first quarter, 16-8, thanks to a 7-0 run and used an identical surge in the second quarter to establish a 26-10 lead midway through. The latter run included a steal and layup by Chou and a layup by sophomore Sydney Skinner, who scored 13, following another Sherman turnover.
"When we get a rebound or a steal, we've got some girls that can just take off," Patterson said. "They don't have to wait for anyone."
Skinner cut through the lane for West's final basket of the first half and a 33-16 lead. The Lady Wolves scored 33 again in the second half for a 66-41 victory. Senior Allison Staley added nine points and four boards in the win and junior Tyara Warren-Cox put up seven points and five rebounds while Jayzhia Softly scored eight points for Sherman. The triumph was the team's third at the tournament in 24 hours as West won games against Carrollton Newman Smith, 63-39, and Coppell, 67-20, on Thursday to capture Pool A.
Those victories further upped the Lady Wolves' program-best start to 14-0.
"I think we started the season a little slow, but we've really picked it up and are getting closer to where we want to be," Chou said. "Now we just need to continue working hard and practicing hard."
West, which won last season's Roundball Classic, advanced to Saturday's Gold Bracket (results not available at press time) with a potential showdown against state No. 1 and defending Class 5A State Champion Duncanville in the finals. The Lady Wolves defeated the Pantherettes in last year's final, 58-50.
The Lady Wolves made up for it in the final eight minutes.
Forcing turnovers, dominating the glass and scoring at will in transition, West doubled up Sherman (22-11) to complete a 66-41 victory over the Lady Bearcats and 3-0 run through pool play at the Collin County Roundball Classic.
"Sometimes we get more excited for some teams than we do for others, so I'd say this definitely wasn't our best game," said Don Patterson, West head coach. "Give credit to Sherman for that too though; they are really quick and a tough little team."
That showed in the third quarter.
Facing a 33-16 halftime deficit, Sherman opened the third with a 3-pointer from Sa'Liesha Hunter. Hunter scored nine points on the afternoon, trailing only the 10 points of Ashley Crockett (who also led the team with six rebounds) on the Lady Bearcats' scoring ledger. Sherman appeared more confident throughout the quarter and cut down on their turnovers to pull within 44-30 at the end of the frame.
"Today, we just seemed a little off," said Natalie Chou, West freshman.
Chou helped change that in the fourth as West opened the final frame on a 12-2 run with the majority of those baskets coming from Chou, who led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds.
"I started to play more aggressive in the second half," Chou said.
Patterson concurred.
"Natalie really went into attack mode there in the second half," he said. "She was able to consistently get to the basket and finish for us."
That was apparent when Chou pulled down a board and went coast to coast for a layup to make it 53-32. Senior Devri Owens, who had 13 points and five rebounds, followed with a 3-pointer to closes West's 12-2 run.
Sherman wouldn't respond with its first field goal of the quarter until 3:09 remained.
Similar offensive woes plagued Sherman in the first half, but for an entirely different reason as the Lady Bearcats turned the ball over 20 times in the first 16 minutes.
"We were able to try some different presses," Patterson said, "and I think we did some things pretty well today."
West led after the first quarter, 16-8, thanks to a 7-0 run and used an identical surge in the second quarter to establish a 26-10 lead midway through. The latter run included a steal and layup by Chou and a layup by sophomore Sydney Skinner, who scored 13, following another Sherman turnover.
"When we get a rebound or a steal, we've got some girls that can just take off," Patterson said. "They don't have to wait for anyone."
Skinner cut through the lane for West's final basket of the first half and a 33-16 lead. The Lady Wolves scored 33 again in the second half for a 66-41 victory. Senior Allison Staley added nine points and four boards in the win and junior Tyara Warren-Cox put up seven points and five rebounds while Jayzhia Softly scored eight points for Sherman. The triumph was the team's third at the tournament in 24 hours as West won games against Carrollton Newman Smith, 63-39, and Coppell, 67-20, on Thursday to capture Pool A.
Those victories further upped the Lady Wolves' program-best start to 14-0.
"I think we started the season a little slow, but we've really picked it up and are getting closer to where we want to be," Chou said. "Now we just need to continue working hard and practicing hard."
West, which won last season's Roundball Classic, advanced to Saturday's Gold Bracket (results not available at press time) with a potential showdown against state No. 1 and defending Class 5A State Champion Duncanville in the finals. The Lady Wolves defeated the Pantherettes in last year's final, 58-50.
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