Sports > Schools
Step back and move forward: Plano overcomes sloppy start to down Rowlett in area finals
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
MESQUITE--Plano Senior did not look like itself during the early stages of Friday's playoff game against Rowlett.
The Lady Wildcats were overthrowing passes, dribbling the ball off their feet and having a hard time simply getting the ball past halfcourt.
At one point, Plano had seven turnovers and only one field goal attempt.
The Lady Wildcats required no dramatic shift in strategy to get headed back in the right direction, they merely stepped back and took a collective deep breath.
Plano rebounded from its shaky start and used a dominant second half to pull away for a 60-41 victory over Rowlett in a Class 5A area round playoff game at North Mesquite High School.
The Lady Wildcats (26-7) move on to the Class 5A Region II quarterfinals where they will face Skyline (28-9) next week at a time and place to be determined.
"We just calmed down," said Lynn Meger, Plano Senior head coach. "Rowlett was doing a lot of things to aggrevate us, they are fiesty and their guards outplayed us in the first half. I think our guards finally calmed down some in the second half and we played a little more controlled, even though it was up tempo, we just decided to play a little more controlled."
Plano's turnover woes early on were not reflected on the scoreboard, as the Eagles (23-9) were unable to take advantage. Rowlett had its own problems, namely shooting the ball, where they made only 22.9 percent (14-of-61) for the game.
Despite their respective issues, the game remained close, as the Lady Wildcats led 44-36 through three quarters. That all changed during a dominant fourth quarter.
Led by Wilma Afunugo (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Grace Mitchell (11 points, 12 rebounds), they opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run that made it 56-36 with 2:55 left.
Afunugo, Mitchell and Ogo Obinabo helped Plano outrebound the Lady Eagles 29-13 in the second half.
"Late in the game, we did well (inside), I thought Rowlett got a little tired, they had to play four different posts," Meger said. "And Ogo came off the bench and probably had five rebounds and eight points and that is unusual for her, but for her to come in and give us some help when Wilma and Grace were in foul trouble, that was key, it got our spirits up."
This was a rematch of the season opener that saw Plano open the game with a 14-1 run on its way to a 62-41 victory. But while the final scores might have been similar, the games were much different.
Rowlett knew it had to offset the Lady Wildcats' inside advantage with its ability on the perimeter and that worked for a half.
After trailing 10-8 after one quarter, Courtney Fine knocked down a 3-pointer and Taylee Alexander hit two free throws and scored a transition layup off a feed from Dominique Oliver to give the Lady Eagles a 18-14 lead.
But those easy scoring opportunities were hard to come by from that point. Plano took the lead for good at 25-23 on a bucket from Kara Mitchell and had a 30-26 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Wildcats widened their lead early in the third quarter, as Afunugo had a three-point play, Haley Wray turned a steal into an easy lay-in and Obinabo scored inside to cap a 9-2 spurt that made it 39-29.
"I think my guards were anxious. We played them early and beat them by 21 and I don't even think it was really a hard game that first time," Meger said. "You can tell them all you want to that teams are different at this time of year but I think it took us a quarter or a half to realize this was going to be a game and we better decide we wanted to win it.
"Kara Mitchell had a really good game as far as handling their pressure, she and Haley Wray both. In the first half they were a little rattled, but the second half was much better."
Rowlett stayed close behind Taylor Dupuy, who had a team-high 10 points, and Fine, who scored nine, to get to within 44-36, but it was all Plano down the stretch.
The Lady Wildcats now turn their attention to Skyline, who posted a 56-38 victory over Lakeview on Friday.
While the Lady Raiders represent Plano's toughest playoff challenge to this point, the team is feeling confident going forward.
"All year they been pretty resilient, they never thought we were out of a game. We've been down 20 and come back and lost by two, been down 20 and came back and won by two," Meger said. "I don't think they panic about losing, they think about winning and what they need to do to get that."
Follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson
The Lady Wildcats were overthrowing passes, dribbling the ball off their feet and having a hard time simply getting the ball past halfcourt.
At one point, Plano had seven turnovers and only one field goal attempt.
The Lady Wildcats required no dramatic shift in strategy to get headed back in the right direction, they merely stepped back and took a collective deep breath.
Plano rebounded from its shaky start and used a dominant second half to pull away for a 60-41 victory over Rowlett in a Class 5A area round playoff game at North Mesquite High School.
The Lady Wildcats (26-7) move on to the Class 5A Region II quarterfinals where they will face Skyline (28-9) next week at a time and place to be determined.
"We just calmed down," said Lynn Meger, Plano Senior head coach. "Rowlett was doing a lot of things to aggrevate us, they are fiesty and their guards outplayed us in the first half. I think our guards finally calmed down some in the second half and we played a little more controlled, even though it was up tempo, we just decided to play a little more controlled."
Plano's turnover woes early on were not reflected on the scoreboard, as the Eagles (23-9) were unable to take advantage. Rowlett had its own problems, namely shooting the ball, where they made only 22.9 percent (14-of-61) for the game.
Despite their respective issues, the game remained close, as the Lady Wildcats led 44-36 through three quarters. That all changed during a dominant fourth quarter.
Led by Wilma Afunugo (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Grace Mitchell (11 points, 12 rebounds), they opened the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run that made it 56-36 with 2:55 left.
Afunugo, Mitchell and Ogo Obinabo helped Plano outrebound the Lady Eagles 29-13 in the second half.
"Late in the game, we did well (inside), I thought Rowlett got a little tired, they had to play four different posts," Meger said. "And Ogo came off the bench and probably had five rebounds and eight points and that is unusual for her, but for her to come in and give us some help when Wilma and Grace were in foul trouble, that was key, it got our spirits up."
This was a rematch of the season opener that saw Plano open the game with a 14-1 run on its way to a 62-41 victory. But while the final scores might have been similar, the games were much different.
Rowlett knew it had to offset the Lady Wildcats' inside advantage with its ability on the perimeter and that worked for a half.
After trailing 10-8 after one quarter, Courtney Fine knocked down a 3-pointer and Taylee Alexander hit two free throws and scored a transition layup off a feed from Dominique Oliver to give the Lady Eagles a 18-14 lead.
But those easy scoring opportunities were hard to come by from that point. Plano took the lead for good at 25-23 on a bucket from Kara Mitchell and had a 30-26 advantage at halftime.
The Lady Wildcats widened their lead early in the third quarter, as Afunugo had a three-point play, Haley Wray turned a steal into an easy lay-in and Obinabo scored inside to cap a 9-2 spurt that made it 39-29.
"I think my guards were anxious. We played them early and beat them by 21 and I don't even think it was really a hard game that first time," Meger said. "You can tell them all you want to that teams are different at this time of year but I think it took us a quarter or a half to realize this was going to be a game and we better decide we wanted to win it.
"Kara Mitchell had a really good game as far as handling their pressure, she and Haley Wray both. In the first half they were a little rattled, but the second half was much better."
Rowlett stayed close behind Taylor Dupuy, who had a team-high 10 points, and Fine, who scored nine, to get to within 44-36, but it was all Plano down the stretch.
The Lady Wildcats now turn their attention to Skyline, who posted a 56-38 victory over Lakeview on Friday.
While the Lady Raiders represent Plano's toughest playoff challenge to this point, the team is feeling confident going forward.
"All year they been pretty resilient, they never thought we were out of a game. We've been down 20 and come back and lost by two, been down 20 and came back and won by two," Meger said. "I don't think they panic about losing, they think about winning and what they need to do to get that."
Follow Devin Hasson on Twitter: @DevinHasson
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