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Stayin' alive: Lady Coyotes dismantle Carter in area-round battle
BY CHRIS O'DELL, codell@starlocalnews.com
CARROLLTON -- The Frisco Heritage girls basketball team received added confidence after a Class 4A bi-district playoff victory against Highland Park on Tuesday.
The Lady Coyotes carried that momentum into Friday's area-round battle against Dallas Carter (14-0 in District 11-4A) and dismantled the Lady Cowboys, 57-37.
"[Tuesday's win against Highland Park] was a huge confidence builder," said Amy Justice, Heritage head coach. "It was the first playoff win in program history."
"The kids played smart early on," Justice said.
Trying to keep the game within reach, Carter responded with back-to-back putback layups from junior forward Artavia Price to trim the deficit to 16-12 with 6:05 remaining in the opening half. However, Heritage answered with a 13-2 run, fueled by seven unanswered points from Tripp, to close the quarter.
"The kids are hungry," Justice said. "They want to make a run. This is historical for us."
The run gave Heritage a 29-14 advantage at the break after senior post Bridjai Chaney scored two of her 12 points with just 20 seconds on the clock. Justice said her team had no intention of taking its foot off the gas with a 15-point lead at halftime.
"I just wanted to encourage the kids to increase the lead and play like it was 0-0," she said.
The Lady Coyotes did exactly that in the third frame, starting the second half with a quick 7-0 run that gave Heritage a 36-14 advantage at the 6:35 mark after a Tripp baseline 3-pointer. The junior finished the game with a team-high 19 points to become one of three Lady Coyotes to reach double figures. Junior guard Taylor Jackson joined Chaney with 12 points in the contest.
"I love [the balance on offense]," Justice said.
The balanced attack allowed Heritage to overcome a game-high 22 points from Price. The junior carried the Lady Cowboys for much of the night, with no other Carter player reaching double figures. The offensive woes for Carter put the team into a 42-23 hole entering the final quarter.
Tripp and Jackson made sure there would be no late comeback by scoring a combined nine points in the fourth and ending the night with a 57-37 victory after senior post Kim Ashmore sank a buzzer-beating layup.
"I was really pleased with the fact that we were able to make several adjustments during the game," Justice said.
The win improved Heritage's season mark to 23-10 and sets up the fourth meeting of the year against district rival Frisco Liberty.
"That's going to be huge," Justice said. "It's a district opponent that went undefeated in district play and a team we went 0-3 against."
The two teams last met in a Jan. 29 matchup that ended with Liberty earning a 46-29 victory for their third double-digit win of the season against Heritage.
"It will be a challenge mentally for us," Justice said. "We're going to have to play smart."
The regional quarterfinals contest will take place Tuesday night at a venue not determined as of press time.
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