Sunset

This was one of our most important games of the year because we wanted to make sure we stayed in the top four spots in the district race, as well as beat teams that compete with us for the final playoff spots.  Your Lady Wildcats came out strong and won 57-47.  It would have been a 13 point win, but their outstanding senior guard banked a long range three off the glass at the buzzer.  The girls played well as a team and did exactly what we wanted scouting report wise.  I was extremely proud of Dy'Seana Carpenter for leading her teammates.  Coach Amabile recently talked to the girls about getting hype, life on the court, pointing on assists, giving each other high fives, etc., and we saw our two captains listen, take that in stride, and do just that.  Dy'Seana talked on defense, communicated with her teammates, and was coachable.  I couldn't ask for more. 

Score by Quarters:
LH      15     12     18     12      57
Sun     11     13     10     13      47

Notable Stats:
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 18 points, 100% from 3 pt range and FTs, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Claudia Talafuse - 11 points, 100% FT (4 of 4), 3 assists!, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Shaletha Mayberry - 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Joy Okeke - 5 points, 12 rebounds!!, 5 steals!, 1 assist

We are now 3-2 in district and we play Berkner this Friday.

Denison

This was the most exciting game of the year!!  Wow!  If you do not think high school girl's basketball is exciting... think again!  Talk about a nail biter!  We won at the buzzer when Shaletha swished a 3 pointer from the corner.  We won by one 50-49.  We have not played many home games, and we started off a little slow and nervous in front of our home crowd. We lost the first quarter 8-15, but after relaxing we won the second quarter 18-10.  We went in to half time up by one 26-25.  We were up by two after the 3rd quarter 35-33.  Very proud of the way the girls finished.  We were in scenarios and situations that we had not been in all year, and it could not have been a better place we needed to be in before Sunset and Berkner.  Denison ran the same 2-3 extended zone that Sunset runs, and we needed to be up against it and work on our 2-3 extended zone offense.  It was a great opportunity, and our girls had to finish, win a close game, and play poised.

Notable Stats:
Shaletha Mayberry - 19 points!, 9 rebounds! 8 steals!!
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 14 points, 2 rebounds
Nakia Larson - 10 points, 7 rebounds!
Kaylee Kaigler - 5 points, 9 rebounds!, 3 steals, 2 assists

Sherman Invitational Tournament

We started the tournament with Frisco High School.  We faced them earlier in the season, and got a win, so we wanted to capture another victory against FHS.  The girls did just that!  We won 50-29

Without Joy playing for the tournament; sophomores Nakia Larson and Kaylee Kaigler knew they had to step up and play great post defense and offense.  They did just that!  Senior Shaletha Mayberry led all scorers with 13 points.

Notable Stats:
Shaletha Mayberry - 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Nakia Larson - 11 points, 13 rebounds!!, 1 steal, 1 assist
Maggie Morgan - 7 points, 4 rebounds
Claudia Talafuse - 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Kaylee Kaigler - 5 points, 11 rebounds!!, 5 steals!

We faced Sherman High School on their home floor on day two.  They were an athletic team, and we played great for one half.  But, we still have to focus on two strong halves, and four good quarters.  We were down by 6 at half time, but the wheels came off in the second half and we lost. 

Notable Stats:
Nakia Larson - 8 points, 10 rebounds!!, 2 steals
Shaletha Mayberry - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists
Kaylee Kaigler - 6 points, 6 rebounds

On day three we faced powerhouse Plano to play for 3rd place.  It was almost the EXACT same game from the day before against Sherman.  We lost, and were down by 7 at the half.  We HAVE to play two good halves.

Notable Stats:
Shaletha Mayberry - 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 4 assists
Nakia Larson - 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals
Maggie Morgan - 5 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist

After the loss and getting 4th place overall; Shaletha was named to the All-Tournament team!!  We were VERY proud of her for this outstanding accomplishment.  She averaged 11.6 points per game, shot 71% from the free throw line including 7 of 9 free against Plano, 30% from 3 pt. range, and averaged 3 steals, 2 assist, and 5 rebounds per game.  Great job Shaletha!!

WT White

Well, we are officially 2-2 in district after a great win against W.T. White.  The final score was 51-27.  The girls pulled together as a team after Joy went down early with a high ankle sprain.  The injury, and having Joy off the floor for more than three quarters of the game, rattled the girls a little.  But, sometimes the best thing that can happen to a team is a teammate go down because the team begins to play for their teammate and the win, instead of just the win. 

Nakia Larson did just that.  She stepped up and filled Joy's shoes while she was out, and those are big shoes to fill.  Great job Nakia!

Notable Stats:
Nakia Larson - 11 points, 12 rebounds!!, 1 steal
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Claudia Talafuse - 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Destiny Rojas - 5 points, 1 steal, 1 assist

Samuell

We got our first district win tonight against Samuell... a much needed win!  I was proud of our 1st quarter start and our 3rd quarter.  We went over three issues at half time and the girls were coachable and adjusted in the second half.  We did not score well the second quarter, and the fourth quarter I subbed after a couple minutes and there was a big drop off.  Our 20+ lead dropped to 10 quickly.  When I subbed the girls back out; we finished and got the win.  We cannot have a drastic drop off when we sub.  Everyone has to stay ready, and when their number is called; they have to be ready to compete!

As I mentioned in my last blog entry; I knew after Shaletha got one game under her belt; she would be good to go... and I was right!  She looked great tonight against Samuell. 

Joy Okeke took the game over in two of our runs, and she looked phenomenal!  Very proud of her leadership tonight!

Notable Stats:
Shaletha Mayberry - 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists
Joy Okeke - 15 points, 18 rebounds!!, double double, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal
Dy'seana Carpenter - 7 points, 8 steals, 4 rebounds

Richardson

We faced the other strongest opponent in our district for our second district match up.  Farrin Bell, a 6'0 guard, is a senior this year and she wants to win.  She is an outstanding player; we focused on Farrin and shutting her down, and in the midst of those efforts; one of Richardson's other good players got hot, and she led all scorers with 20 points.

We were SOOOO excited to have Shaletha back on the floor for us, but she was nervous.  She wanted to win more than anything, but her nerves got the best of her.  She has only played 6 Varsity games in her life, and she was worked up, and her adrenaline rush actually hurt her instead of helped her.  However, I know without a doubt; she will be ready to go and have an outstanding game against Samuell.

I was so proud of Abby Harris and her defensive efforts.  Abby has always worked extremely hard on defense, but she stopped one of the best players in the state in the 4th quarter.  She frustrated their best player and she was unable to score.

Notable Stats:
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 14 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Joy Okeke - 6 points, 10 rebounds!, 1 steal, 2 blocks

Collin County Roundball Classic

We started with McKinney HS in the McKinney tournament.  They are a well coached, athletic team, and similar to many teams we had played previously.  We lost, but we played a great first half.  We keep seeing glimpses of greatness; however, we can not put together two good halves.  When we are able to do that; we will win close games, big games, and compete.

Notable Stats:
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 14 points, 4 steals
Joy Okeke - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 60% FT line

Our second game was against Frisco High School.  We got a much needed win, and we played great team basketball.  Although we only scored 35 points; we held them to 18 points and were proud of our team defensive efforts.

Notable Stats:
Claudia Talafuse - 11 points, led all scorers, three 3's
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 8 points
Joy Okeke - 6 points

Our next game was against Coppell High School.  They are a fundamentally strong team, and they have a high basketball IQ.  We finished strong and tied the fourth quarter at 15 all, but we could not get defensive stops in the first half.

Notable Stats:
Dy'Seana Carpenter - 17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists
Joy Okeke - 12 points, 10 rebounds, double double, 5 steals!
Maggie Morgan - 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist
Claudia Talafuse - 5 points, 3 assists, 1 steal

The last game was against Newman Smith High School.  They were extremely athletic inside and our posts got a good challenge inside offensively and defensively.  We lost and the second quarter really hurt us more than anything.  We had WAY too many turnovers and we just looked mentally drained from a tough, competitive tournament.

Notable Stats:
Joy Okeke - 12 points, 9 rebounds!, 4 steals, 1 assist
Claudia Talafuse - 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist
Nakia Larson - 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals