6-6A girls conclude 1st half of district play

PLANO, TX – Staring at a .500 record in district play this far into the conference schedule isn’t something that’s all too familiar for Plano’s girls basketball team.

With one half of the season’s district schedule in the books, the Lady Wildcats got a needed boost heading into the second leg of the team’s 6-6A round robin after cruising past rival Plano West on Tuesday, 65-41.

After mustering only 11 points in the first half in Friday’s 48-45 loss to Flower Mound, Plano recorded at least 14 points in all four quarters during Tuesday’s rout of the Lady Wolves. Head coach Kelly Stallings dug deep into her bench with 11 different players scoring for Plano — senior Khuyler Hardy led the way with 12 points while sophomore Salese Blow and senior Amaya Brannon added on a balanced night for the Plano offense.

Sophomore Monica Marsh scored a game-high 15 points for West, which struggled to keep pace with only 15 points in the first half. The Lady Wolves trailed 28-15 at the break before Plano swelled its lead past the 20-point threshold with a 23-14 advantage in the third quarter.

The win snapped a two-game skid for Plano, which dropped ballgames to Plano East and Flower Mound to fall into a tie for fourth place in the district with West at 3-3. The Lady Wildcats crept back above .500 with Tuesday’s win to take sole possession of fourth place heading into the second half of the district schedule on Friday.

Plano welcomes Coppell at 7 p.m. Friday while West hosts Lewisville at the same time.

Elsewhere in the district…

*The Plano East girls, unbeaten in district play, had Tuesday’s game against Marcus postponed as the Lady Marauders work through a COVID-related shutdown of play. The Lady Panthers are 6-0 in conference action after having to battle back from a 26-19 halftime deficit against Coppell for an eventual 35-33 victory.

*Speaking of which, the East boys nearly rocked the 6-6A pecking order by playing two-time district champion Coppell close on Friday in a 60-54 loss and then by jumping on first-place Marcus on Tuesday with a 20-12 lead in the second quarter. The two sides drew even at 20-20 by halftime before the Marauders surged ahead with a 35-23 edge over the final two quarters for a 55-43 victory. Seniors Connor Johnson and Deuce Hardison chipped in eight points apiece for the Panthers, while Marcus junior Zane Hicke and senior Nick Donnelly logged 11 apiece.

*Keep an eye on Hebron. The Hawks have picked up their level of play in recent weeks behind consecutive district wins over Plano West (58-34) and Lewisville (52-42). Although Farmer star Kylin Green caught fire for 26 points in Tuesday’s matchup, Hebron didn’t allow another Lewisville player to exceed five points and countered with its usual mix of timely offense up and down the rotation. Senior Ezekial Onoviran led the way with 15 points to improve Hebron to 3-2 in district, good for third place.

*As the first half of the 6-6A girls schedule closes down, the district’s four playoff teams would be, in order, East (6-0), Hebron (5-2), Lewisville (4-2) and Plano (4-3). The Lady Panthers and Lady Farmers both have make-up games against Marcus still to be played.