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Reward over risk: Lady Panthers' late gamble topples Boyd for first 10-5A win
By Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
PLANO -- On Tuesday night, the Plano East girls basketball team erased a taste that has soured its mouth for the past three weeks.
A District 10-5A win was the medicine needed to cure those ills, which the Lady Panthers procured with a 52-47 victory over McKinney Boyd.
"We've been without a win for a while now," said LaGwenna Morrow, East head coach, "so whether it's in district or not, just to get a win was great to get morale up. That was definitely a positive."
That count became 47-47 inside the final 45 seconds before East freshman Daria McCutcheon was responsible for the quarter's sixth and final lead change. Despite the Lady Broncos being in double bonus, McCutcheon cleanly stripped Boyd senior Charmaine Celestine at midcourt and converted an and-1 for a 50-47 lead with 36 ticks left.
"That was exceptional defense at that point in time," Morrow said. "It was very crucial. Daria did very well and for her to finish on the other end was great. She's really stepping up as a freshman."
Two free throws by East junior Letty Bornstad followed and East erased its place as the district's lone winless squad.
"We played like we hadn't played basketball before," said Rochelle Vaughn, Boyd head coach. "We struggled from the free throw line (12-of-29) and that killed us, as did costly turnovers. We just had no energy."
The Lady Panthers looked to be in prime position to break their six-game skid early, jumping out to a 14-8 lead behind six points from senior Jordan Welch, who scored 10 total along with seven rebounds. Despite six second-quarter points from Boyd junior Haley Carruthers, including a jumper that nudged the Lady Broncos in front at 19-18, East countered with an 8-2 run to round out the half for a 27-20 lead.
The third quarter -- and second half, in general -- belonged to East senior Jasmine Caston, who returned after being sidelined by an ankle injury for most of the season.
"Jasmine was that presence we needed on the floor tonight," Morrow said. "It may not have been big on stats but her presence on the court literally made a huge difference for our offense."
Numbers-wise, the Texas Tech signee wasn't too shabby either in compiling 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Twelve of those points came in the second half, although Boyd had its own counterattack behind the aggression of senior Julia Hendrieth inside. Hendrieth scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half to go with six boards and four steals. The Lady Broncos also ratcheted up their defensive pressure, forcing 18 turnovers on the night and limiting East to just six points in the third quarter.
"I think our press is getting better," Vaughn said. "We just have to capitalize on their mistakes and we didn't. We didn't come out ready to play."
It was enough to bring Boyd within one point at 33-32 after three quarters but McCutcheon steadied the tide with seven of her 10 points over the final eight minutes --including the game-deciding bucket in the 52-47 victory.
A 6 p.m. Friday home tilt against McKinney awaits Boyd while East travels to Plano West at 7:30 p.m.
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