Sports
Baker's Dozen: 13th lead change pushes West past Allen, 65-60
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com
ALLEN - The message from Plano West girls basketball head coach Don Patterson was clear following Tuesday night's 65-60 victory over Allen.
"I told the girls that if this doesn't wake you up and let you know every team in this district is coming after you and you are going to get their best shot every time," he said, "then nothing will."
Allen (1-1 in district) didn't just come after West Tuesday, it had the Lady Wolves (2-0) on their heels most of the evening.
The Lady Eagles led much of the way and held a 49-47 edge to start the fourth.
But the Lady Wolves opened the final frame on a 9-2 run that included a 3-pointer from senior Devri Owens and a floater by junior Tyara Warren-Cox, who led the team with 19 points each. Owens' 3-pointer, which gave West a 53-51 lead with 6:04 remaining, was the 13th and final lead change of the game.
But in a contest that also featured five ties, Allen had one more surge.
The Lady Eagles drew even at 56-56 with 2:43 to go following free throws from senior Kelsey Paul, who had six points and 10 boards, and a 3-pointer by Kayla Bise. The sophomore sharpshooter tied for the team's scoring lead with junior Anna Horowitz after both put in 15.
Bise's trifecta was Allen's 11th, but only the third of the half.
"West made a concerted effort to stop us from shooting the three in the second half," said Sean Weibling, Allen head coach. "That slowed us down, but I thought we did a better job then of penetrating and getting to the basket."
West upped its desire to reach the rim too with senior Randi Reinhardt, who had seven points and five rebounds, cutting through the lane and putting West back in front, 58-56, with 2:29 to go.
The Lady Wolves finished the game at the line despite an abysmal evening from the charity stripe in which the team missed 15 shots. Owens made the last two to set the final at 65-60 after completing a steal that was started by a pass breakup from West senior Grace Horn with less than 10 seconds remaining and Allen trailing by three.
That was the Lady Eagles' seventh turnover of the quarter.
"We have to limit our mistakes on offense," Weibling said. "Some of what you saw was because of the pace of the game, but we have to be fundamental and not do silly things with the ball."
Allen did plenty of silly things with the ball early, but in a more positive connotation as the Lady Eagles knocked down 3-pointers at a rapid rate.
Horowitz and Bise both connected in the first 90 seconds and junior Ericka May knocked one down to give Allen an 18-17 lead at the end of the frame. That advantage extended to as much as 28-18 midway through the second as the Lady Eagles knocked down eight first-half triples. The last came from senior Kaitlyn Packett, who had six points, and gave the home team a 34-33 advantage at the break.
"Allen played really well," Patterson said. "And you have to give them credit for knocking down their shots, but we did not do a good job contesting those shots."
That was part of what Patterson felt was a lackluster defensive effort.
"Our defensive intensity has really fallen down," he said. "I think the girls believe we can just outscore everyone."
The biggest disparity in intensity came on the glass where Allen outrebounded West, 37-17. May led that charge with a game-high 16 boards to go with her 13 points.
"We knew we couldn't allow West to get any offensive boards," Weibling said, "because if you do, they can start piling up points on you."
Despite its rebounding deficiency, West still piled up points on occasion with a 14-3 spurt in the second paced by Warren-Cox getting the team back in the game and a 9-2 surge to start the fourth leading to the eventual 65-60 win.
"These girls do what's necessary when it's necessary," Patterson said. "And they have a knack for pulling games like this out."
West next hosts McKinney at 6 p.m. Friday while Allen is on the road against McKinney Boyd at the same time.
"Our goal is to win a district title, so everything we do is geared toward that," Weibling said. "I think the girls understand that we let one get away tonight, but we're still doing a lot of things right. We've still got eight games to go, so we can't feel sorry for ourselves."
"I told the girls that if this doesn't wake you up and let you know every team in this district is coming after you and you are going to get their best shot every time," he said, "then nothing will."
Allen (1-1 in district) didn't just come after West Tuesday, it had the Lady Wolves (2-0) on their heels most of the evening.
The Lady Eagles led much of the way and held a 49-47 edge to start the fourth.
But the Lady Wolves opened the final frame on a 9-2 run that included a 3-pointer from senior Devri Owens and a floater by junior Tyara Warren-Cox, who led the team with 19 points each. Owens' 3-pointer, which gave West a 53-51 lead with 6:04 remaining, was the 13th and final lead change of the game.
But in a contest that also featured five ties, Allen had one more surge.
The Lady Eagles drew even at 56-56 with 2:43 to go following free throws from senior Kelsey Paul, who had six points and 10 boards, and a 3-pointer by Kayla Bise. The sophomore sharpshooter tied for the team's scoring lead with junior Anna Horowitz after both put in 15.
Bise's trifecta was Allen's 11th, but only the third of the half.
"West made a concerted effort to stop us from shooting the three in the second half," said Sean Weibling, Allen head coach. "That slowed us down, but I thought we did a better job then of penetrating and getting to the basket."
West upped its desire to reach the rim too with senior Randi Reinhardt, who had seven points and five rebounds, cutting through the lane and putting West back in front, 58-56, with 2:29 to go.
The Lady Wolves finished the game at the line despite an abysmal evening from the charity stripe in which the team missed 15 shots. Owens made the last two to set the final at 65-60 after completing a steal that was started by a pass breakup from West senior Grace Horn with less than 10 seconds remaining and Allen trailing by three.
That was the Lady Eagles' seventh turnover of the quarter.
"We have to limit our mistakes on offense," Weibling said. "Some of what you saw was because of the pace of the game, but we have to be fundamental and not do silly things with the ball."
Allen did plenty of silly things with the ball early, but in a more positive connotation as the Lady Eagles knocked down 3-pointers at a rapid rate.
Horowitz and Bise both connected in the first 90 seconds and junior Ericka May knocked one down to give Allen an 18-17 lead at the end of the frame. That advantage extended to as much as 28-18 midway through the second as the Lady Eagles knocked down eight first-half triples. The last came from senior Kaitlyn Packett, who had six points, and gave the home team a 34-33 advantage at the break.
"Allen played really well," Patterson said. "And you have to give them credit for knocking down their shots, but we did not do a good job contesting those shots."
That was part of what Patterson felt was a lackluster defensive effort.
"Our defensive intensity has really fallen down," he said. "I think the girls believe we can just outscore everyone."
The biggest disparity in intensity came on the glass where Allen outrebounded West, 37-17. May led that charge with a game-high 16 boards to go with her 13 points.
"We knew we couldn't allow West to get any offensive boards," Weibling said, "because if you do, they can start piling up points on you."
Despite its rebounding deficiency, West still piled up points on occasion with a 14-3 spurt in the second paced by Warren-Cox getting the team back in the game and a 9-2 surge to start the fourth leading to the eventual 65-60 win.
"These girls do what's necessary when it's necessary," Patterson said. "And they have a knack for pulling games like this out."
West next hosts McKinney at 6 p.m. Friday while Allen is on the road against McKinney Boyd at the same time.
"Our goal is to win a district title, so everything we do is geared toward that," Weibling said. "I think the girls understand that we let one get away tonight, but we're still doing a lot of things right. We've still got eight games to go, so we can't feel sorry for ourselves."
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