Girls basketball playoffs: Plano defense stifles Richardson; Southlake Carroll wins in a rout

 PLANO, TX— Looking for a way to slow down a Richardson squad that found its offensive rhythm, Plano girls basketball coach Kelly Stallings gave her team a directive heading into the fourth quarter of their Class 6A area-round playoff game Monday.

Get them with better defense. Layers of it.

That worked, as Plano held Richardson to two fourth-quarter field goals and pulled away for a 57-46 win at R.L. Turner High School’s W.B. “Sky” Green Gymnasium.

Richardson trailed by just two, 38-36, at the end of the third quarter. But Plano used a 10-3 run to build its lead back up to 54-42 with 1:19 remaining.

Amaya Brannon had six points in the run, including a key basket off Mikayla Eddins’ pass with 2:19 left to give Plano a 48-41 edge. Brannon, a Louisiana Tech signee, led all players with 21 points.

She scored 13 in the first half and led the defensive effort with six steals. She also had five assists.

“It was more determination in the fourth quarter,” Stallings said. “It was making it difficult to get past the first layer of defense, then if they do, having that second layer right there to help.”

Plano (18-5), ranked No. 10 in the area, advanced to a Region I quarterfinal against No. 3-ranked South Grand Prairie at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Colleyville Heritage. It’s the eighth time since 2013 that Plano has advanced to the region-quarterfinal round. Richardson (20-4) was denied its first regional quarterfinal appearance since 2016.

Plano limited Richardson to 15 for 52 (28.9 percent) shooting from the field.

Offensive depth was also a key for Plano, as Salese Blow added 14 points while Eddins, an Arkansas-Little Rock signee, had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Kaia Ponder, a Morgan State signee, was an inside force for Richardson with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Zariah Tillman had 18 points for Richardson, but the Lady Eagles had just two players in double figures and four players score points. Callie Cooper, a California-Santa Barbara signee, had nine points, eight rebounds and three steals for Richardson.

Spotlight

Southlake Carroll 58, El Paso Americas 27: Camryn Tade scored 18 points, and Brittney Flexer added 12 points as Carroll advanced to the 6A Region I quarterfinals. Carroll (22-6), the No. 2 seed from District 4-6A, will play the winner of Tuesday’s game between Wolfforth Frenship and 4-6A rival Keller Timber Creek.

Carroll led 15-8 after one quarter, then turned the game into a blowout by outscoring Americas 28-7 over the second and third quarters.

Red Oak 87, Mount Pleasant 49: Double-doubles from Breanna Davis and North Texas signee Aniyah Johnson powered Red Oak to an area-round blowout.

Davis had 20 points and 11 assists, and Johnson added 22 points and 13 rebounds. Red Oak (23-5), ranked No. 19 in the state in 5A, will play No. 25 Highland Park or Lufkin in the regional quarterfinals.

North Forney 46, Huntsville 41: Raven Busby scored 10 of her 14 points in the second and third quarters, and Jayla Moore scored seven of her 10 points in the second half as North Forney won an area-round playoff game.

North Forney led 11-4 after one quarter, but trailed 23-21 at halftime after being outscored 19-10 in the second quarter.

Midlothian Heritage 61, Carrollton Ranchview 54: District 11-4A champion Midlothian Heritage jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and held off a furious Ranchview rally in the second half in the area-round game.

Heritage (22-5), ranked No. 12 in the state in 4A, will play Melissa in the Region II quarterfinals.

Jerzie Bryant led Heritage with 15 points, and Kora Huff and Elizabeth Schmidt combined for 22 points. Alivia Session scored a game-high 28 points for Ranchview.

North Crowley 45, San Angelo Central 35: Jade Goynes scored a team-high 10 points as North Crowley won its area-round game. North Crowley will next play the winner of Tuesday’s Keller vs. El Paso Franklin game.