Sports
Defensive Prowess: Lady Wildcats top Lionettes in district opener
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
And so it begins.
The District 10-5A girls basketball slate got underway Friday night, with McKinney getting bested by Plano Senior, 49-28, on the road. A strong defensive presence in the first half from the Lady Wildcats proved to be the Lionettes' undoing.
"I thought we played hard and I thought we competed, but you got to make shots and I thought we shot the ball very poorly," said Debbie Harris, McKinney head coach. "I thought we had a lot of good looks, we just couldn't hit a shot."
McKinney falls to 13-11 on the season while Plano improves to 17-6 with the victory.
"The girls were ready to play," said Lynn Meger, Plano head coach. "I thought we had a great first half and I thought we were sluggish in the second half and we got to change that. Overall, I thought it was a good game."
Wilma Afunugo led the way for Plano with a game-high 19 points, followed by Haley Wray's nine points and Grace Mitchell's eight points. Top scorers for McKinney were Mariah Mitchell with 16 points and Jazsmin Nelson with six points.
It was a defensive game throughout much of the opening frame, as shots initially refused to fall against both team's strong defensive efforts. Afunugo scored the game's first five points, before Mitchell got McKinney on the board with a jumper just inside the arc.
"Wilma is a difficult matchup for a lot of people inside," Meger said. "She's a next level player and I think she shows it on a consistent basis."
The Lady Wildcats would go on a quick run, scoring eight points in the final minute of the first quarter, with six of them coming from Mitchell, for the 15-2 lead.
"Grace, she's just an athlete," Meger said. "She's very intimidating, on the ball, in traps and she has an incredible vertical. She's especially key to our defense."
The Lionettes' offensive troubles continued in the second quarter. Although McKinney held Plano to only six points throughout nearly the entire quarter, the Lady Wildcats would again go on an explosive run to close out the frame, scoring six points inside of the final minute and a half.
Plano led 27-8 at the half. Mitchell did her best to keep the Lionettes in it, scoring six of McKinney's eight first half points, but Plano was able to keep their district rival's offensive efforts under wraps all the same.
"The bottom line is you have to hit some of those shots to beat people and I think at halftime we were shooting 12 percent," Harris said. "You're not going to beat many people shooting 12 percent."
The Lionettes were able to score seven in the third quarter, nearly all from the charity stripe, but were unable to keep the Lady Wildcats in check as they widened their lead. Plano led 38-15 heading into the final frame.
"One of the things I was concerned about was beating their press and we beat their press all night long," Harris said. "If we could have gotten more shots to fall, that would have put us in the ballgame."
The Lionettes sprung to life at the start of the fourth, as Mitchell and teammate Nicole Quincy each sank a shot from downtown for a quick six points, forcing Plano to rapidly call a timeout.
"I thought we had good effort," Harris said. "I don't have any complaints about any of our girls' effort. Plano is a very talented team, very athletic team."
The Lady Wildcats remained in control the rest of the way, claiming the season's first district victory.
Although their district opener didn't go their way, Harris said her squad is steadfast in their resolve to learn from their mistakes and continually improve as the second half of the season wears on.
"We don't shy away or hide from our troubles, we embrace them," she said. "We're not done. We're going to battle."
The District 10-5A girls basketball slate got underway Friday night, with McKinney getting bested by Plano Senior, 49-28, on the road. A strong defensive presence in the first half from the Lady Wildcats proved to be the Lionettes' undoing.
"I thought we played hard and I thought we competed, but you got to make shots and I thought we shot the ball very poorly," said Debbie Harris, McKinney head coach. "I thought we had a lot of good looks, we just couldn't hit a shot."
McKinney falls to 13-11 on the season while Plano improves to 17-6 with the victory.
"The girls were ready to play," said Lynn Meger, Plano head coach. "I thought we had a great first half and I thought we were sluggish in the second half and we got to change that. Overall, I thought it was a good game."
Wilma Afunugo led the way for Plano with a game-high 19 points, followed by Haley Wray's nine points and Grace Mitchell's eight points. Top scorers for McKinney were Mariah Mitchell with 16 points and Jazsmin Nelson with six points.
It was a defensive game throughout much of the opening frame, as shots initially refused to fall against both team's strong defensive efforts. Afunugo scored the game's first five points, before Mitchell got McKinney on the board with a jumper just inside the arc.
"Wilma is a difficult matchup for a lot of people inside," Meger said. "She's a next level player and I think she shows it on a consistent basis."
The Lady Wildcats would go on a quick run, scoring eight points in the final minute of the first quarter, with six of them coming from Mitchell, for the 15-2 lead.
"Grace, she's just an athlete," Meger said. "She's very intimidating, on the ball, in traps and she has an incredible vertical. She's especially key to our defense."
The Lionettes' offensive troubles continued in the second quarter. Although McKinney held Plano to only six points throughout nearly the entire quarter, the Lady Wildcats would again go on an explosive run to close out the frame, scoring six points inside of the final minute and a half.
Plano led 27-8 at the half. Mitchell did her best to keep the Lionettes in it, scoring six of McKinney's eight first half points, but Plano was able to keep their district rival's offensive efforts under wraps all the same.
"The bottom line is you have to hit some of those shots to beat people and I think at halftime we were shooting 12 percent," Harris said. "You're not going to beat many people shooting 12 percent."
The Lionettes were able to score seven in the third quarter, nearly all from the charity stripe, but were unable to keep the Lady Wildcats in check as they widened their lead. Plano led 38-15 heading into the final frame.
"One of the things I was concerned about was beating their press and we beat their press all night long," Harris said. "If we could have gotten more shots to fall, that would have put us in the ballgame."
The Lionettes sprung to life at the start of the fourth, as Mitchell and teammate Nicole Quincy each sank a shot from downtown for a quick six points, forcing Plano to rapidly call a timeout.
"I thought we had good effort," Harris said. "I don't have any complaints about any of our girls' effort. Plano is a very talented team, very athletic team."
The Lady Wildcats remained in control the rest of the way, claiming the season's first district victory.
Although their district opener didn't go their way, Harris said her squad is steadfast in their resolve to learn from their mistakes and continually improve as the second half of the season wears on.
"We don't shy away or hide from our troubles, we embrace them," she said. "We're not done. We're going to battle."
Copyright © 2013 - Star Local News