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Playoff newcomers fuel Lady Panthers' upset of Richardson
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
THE COLONY -- Of the 16 players on the Plano East girls basketball team, 14 made their playoff debut Monday night against Richardson.
Two of the game's biggest plays were made by a pair of those newcomers and proved the difference in the Lady Panthers' 47-46 bi-district playoff win.
"With what we've been through this season, I think every win means something," said LaGwenna Morrow, East head coach, "but just the fact that we're in the playoffs with the structure of what we have shows how resilient we are."
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The Lady Panthers didn't rush their response, but made their move after junior Letty Bornstad rebounded her own miss and scored on an off-balance putback to nudge East ahead, 47-46, with eight seconds remaining.
"I couldn't have done this without my teammates," Bornstad said. "They do a great job spreading out the floor. That shot was just a little lucky."
Following a timeout, Coleman bolted up the court and carved her way into the lane, only to be stripped by East freshman Daria McCutcheon as the clock expired.
"The last timeout that we took with 59 seconds left was just to settle them down," Morrow said. "Once we settled down, we got an opportunity for a better shot. Letty did a great job getting that rebound and Daria made a strong defensive play in the end."
The Lady Panthers have now won six of their last nine games after starting District 10-5A at 0-3. That momentum carried over into Monday, with the Lady Panthers making their first notable push midway through the second quarter.
Bornstad, who led the Lady Panthers with 13 points, keyed the surge with a pair of corner 3-pointers to give East an 18-12 lead. Richardson countered with a 10-2 run to close the first half, converting transition offense into a 22-20 advantage at the break.
East regained control with 5:31 to go in the third following a 3-pointer by McCutcheon, who scored eight in the win. A technical foul on Richardson after the bucket sent East senior Jordan Welch to the line, where she made 1-of-2 for a 25-24 lead. Senior Jasmine Caston followed with a layup for a 27-24 lead and the first of her seven points on a night when Richardson's speed and length hassled East around the rim.
"Richardson did a very good job defensively," Morrow said. "That altered how we were shooting the ball. I still think we didn't settle as much as we needed to and I think that could have helped give us more of a cushion, but a win's a win."
The Lady Eagles compiled six steals and seven blocks in defeat, with Coleman stealing four and blocking four in addition to scoring 10 points and dishing three assists.
The point guard knocked down a floater in the lane to pull Richardson to 35-33 before East sophomore Doneesha Corbin converted a baseline jumper for a 37-33 cushion the Lady Panthers carried into the fourth. Thirty seconds into the final stanza, Caston sunk a corner 3-pointer for a 42-33 lead before Richardson rattled off a 7-0 run that included five points by Brianna Lester, who scored 11 points total.
A Caston putback and Welch free throw set the stage for a wild final minute, with the Lady Panthers prevailing for their first trip past the bi-district round since 2010-11.
"This really brings up our confidence and is huge for the team," Bornstad said. "We've had so many injuries this year, but we've come back strong and we've still acted like a sisterhood and a family. This is a great win for us."
Now in the area round, East meets Mesquite Horn on Friday at 7:30 p.m. from Rowlett High School.
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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