Playoff basketball roundup: Boswell upsets Hebron plus more from Fort Worth-area schools
The UIL Texas high school basketball playoffs continued on Friday.
See results, stats and more from boys and girls basketball teams from the Fort Worth-area. The boys teams competed in the area round, and the girls played in the regional semifinals on Friday.
Girls Basketball
Boswell stuns Hebron, advances to regional final
Hebron entered the regional semifinal against Boswell ranked No. 2 in Class 6A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
Rankings aren’t everything, and Boswell secured a 49-44 victory at Wilkerson Greines on Friday to eliminate Hebron and advance to the regional final. They’ll face South Grand Prairie at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wilkerson Greines.
Boswell freshman guard Sydney Durrah hit four clutch free throw to seal the deal for the Lady Pioneers. She finished with a team high 21 points and made all eight free throw attempts.
Junior guard Camille Williams was also a key contributor, adding 16 points. She hit a three pointer in the fourth quarter to ensure the Pioneers’ stayed in front.
South Grand Prairie eliminates Southlake Carroll
Southlake Carroll girls basketball met its match in the regional semifinal.
South Grand Prairie led from start to finish, taking advantage of its size and pestering defense to secure a 62-44 victory at Wilkerson Greines on Friday. Taylor Barnes led the way for SGP, scoring 13 points in the third quarter and tallying a team high 25 points in total.
South Grand Prairie took a 29-21 lead at the half, and the Dragons were still in a position to cut the lead. The SGP Warriors, however, outscored Southlake Carroll by 13 points in the third quarter, creating a sizable lead that was too much to overcome.
SGP has four players on its roster at 6-foot or taller, and the height was a lot for the Lady Dragons to handle. Southlake Carroll doesn’t have a player in the team taller than 5-foot-11.
The Warriors kept control of their lead the rest of the way. With one minute remaining Southlake Carroll senior forward Taryn Barnes fouled out of the game.
Barnes, who fought all game and collected eight offensive rebounds, received a standing ovation from the crowd. She cried and hugged coaches and teammates as fans applauded her high school career and effort.
Junior Milania Jordan led Southlake Carroll with 15 points while freshman Nadia Jordan tallied 9 points. Nadia Jordan was a defensive pest for the Lady Dragons, keeping the game competitive with intense effort and unwavering competitiveness.
The Jordan sisters make up four of five Southlake Carroll starters, and they are all set to return to high school basketball next season.
Boys Basketball
Mansfield Lake Ridge rolls past Wylie
Mansfield Lake Ridge is a potential state championship contender in Class 6A, and the Eagles were dominant in the area round.
Lake Ridge (29-6) defeated Wylie 55-37 to advance on Thursday at Carrollton Smith High School. Senior guard Matthew Alexander led the way with a strong 17 point performance.
Lake Ridge head coach Cornelius Mitchell said Alexander is the “heart and soul” of the program.
“He plays hard,” Mitchell said. “He doesn’t care about scoring. All he cares about is doing whatever he had to do in order for our team to win. He’s a great kid. He’s competitive and smart.”
The Eagles jumped out to a 14-4 lead in a first quarter, preventing Wylie from reaching the basket with intense, physical defense. Mitchell said the team executed the defensive game plan well.
“That was our focus,” Mitchell said of preventing interior shots. “Make them put it on the floor and make plays off the dribble.”
According Mitchell, the team usually plays fast but stayed patient against a tough Wylie defense. Mitchell said the team was excited at first but calmed down as the game continued, showing offensive patience.
Mitchell mentioned that fast paced, out of control play could hurt against a solid defensive squad such as Wylie.
“Our seniors and our guards did a really good job of executing,” Mitchell said.
Lake Ridge point guard Amir McMillan, a 247Sports’ three star prospect, controlled the pace of the offense and consistently made smart passes. Mitchell said he is one of the guys that has a knack for scoring and assisting.
“He puts other guys in great positions to score,” Mitchell said. “Every single time we get the ball in his hands something good happens.”
Lake Ridge took a 27-13 halftime lead and Wylie responded with an aggressive half court press. Wylie’s offense improved, but the Eagles consistently found ways to beat the press and kept control of a double digit lead the rest of the way.
To have success in later rounds, Mitchell said the team will need to be consistent, stay competitive and show “continuous relentlessly.”
McMillan said the team will need to keep practicing every day and do everything they can to improve. Lake Ridge will play the winner of Waxahachie or Horn in the regional quarterfinal at a time and place that is to be determined.
“You’ve got to keep getting better in the playoffs,” McMillan said.
No. 1 Faith Family blitzes Dunbar
The Dallas Oack Cliff Faith Family boys did to Fort Worth Dunbar like the Wildcats do to many of their opponents.
The Eagles shot extremely well, out rebounded Dunbar, and used a smothering full-court press to create steals and force turnovers.
In the end Faith Family, the No. 1 team in the state in Class 4A, dismantled the Wildcats 105-64 in a 4A Region II area-round game at Grand Prairie High School.
Faith Family (20-11) advances to the Region II quarterfinals where it will face either Alvarado (24-7) or Frisco Panther Creek (19-11) who play Tuesday night.
Faith Family’s length, three players over 6’7”, and quickness on the press caused fits for Dunbar (16-12) the entire game. Even when the Wildcats could get off a shot it was usually contested by a Faith Family defender.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 12-0 lead starting with back-to-back threes by Jazz Henderson and Tahsheim Gary. Jeffrey Kirven had a pair of baskets to help Dunbar cut the lead to 12-6 with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
But Faith Family went on a 10-0 run immediately after that to up the lead to 22-6 and started a 20-5 run late in the first quarter that pushed the lead to 47-17 with 5:05 in the second quarter.
Faith Family led by 25-30 points for much of the rest of the game until the contest turned into an NBA All-Star Game late where little defense was played.
Jonathan Williams led Dunbar with 25 points followed by Dwight Johnson with 13 and Kirven added 10 for the Wildcats.
Faith Family had 11 of 12 players on its roster score points led by 6’11” Doryan Onwuchekwa who poured in 25, including a fall-away three pointer at the first quarter buzzer.
Lamont Hartfield and Isaac Williams had 16 points each for the Eagles with Gary adding 10.
