In a top-10 state showdown, Hendrickson girls top Pflugerville for share of 26-6A lead
No easy points, no easy shots. It was a crosstown rivalry pitting a pair of the state's top-10 teams, and Saturday's game fit the billing as Hendrickson avenged its earlier loss by beating Pflugerville 38-31 in a game that was 33-31 with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter.
“This was high-tension, playoff basketball, the teams are both really good, the rivalry is intense, and the players know each other," Hendrickson head coach Norma Sierra said. “Pflugerville is extremely well-coached and play hard. Would not be a surprise for us to meet again at regionals.”
More: Austin High girls secure third straight district championship with win over Lake Travis
Niyah Waters led the Hawks with 11 points, but was limited offensively in the first half, scoring just one basket before breaking out in the third quarter with eight points that staked the Hawks to their biggest lead at 29-19.
“At halftime, coach Sierra told me to slow down, to quick forcing myself and let the game come to me,” Waters said. “I listened, and in the third quarter I just seemed to have better looks by being more patient. But this is really all about my teammates and how they were there for me and lifted me. It was team all the way.”
Hendrickson opened quickly in a Saturday afternoon matinee that filled the Panthers gym. Mikalah Buckley, who had 18 points in Hendrickson's 50-35 win over Georgetown on Friday night, scored five of her eight points in the first quarter as the Hawks built a 13-6 lead. The host Panthers got five first-half points by Ariana Baldwin and trailed 19-14 at the half.
More: Hendrickson player Tatyanna Bailey's return to court should lift all of us up
“Both teams played Friday. I told the team this was playoffs, like regionals when you have Friday/Saturday must-win weekends. The fans, the noise, the tension — it was all playoff basketball," Sierra said.
Waters led the Hawks to open the third period as Hendrickson surged to a 29-19 lead on eight points by Waters and two from Miyah Carter while the Panthers got a basket by Jaida Gomez and a 3-point shot by Jordyn Watts. Down by 10 at home, the Panthers upped their defensive pressure and converted turnovers into baskets by Watts, Gomez and a 3-point shot by Aamaria Wright for a 7-0 run that cut the lead to three points at 29-26 at the end of the third quarter.
“No one was quitting, no one was stopping," Sierra said. "This was a game to the finish.”
The extremely aggressive defensive efforts by both teams resulted in much of the fourth quarter becoming a free-throw event. All five Panthers points came from the charity stripe while three of the Hawks' were free throws. Hendrickson led 33-31 after Watts hit a free throw for what would be the last Panthers points of the game.
Marissa Brewer made a free throw, then Waters hit a free throw for her 11th point of the game. With 23 seconds left, Buckley hit a free throw and as time ran out, she hit an uncontested layup for the final score.
“This kind of game is just amazing,” Waters said. "Everyone plays together here and both teams work so hard, the fans are loud, it is very fun.”
Watts led Pflugerville with nine points while Gomez added seven. Maci Quiller had nine rebounds and four blocked shots for Hendrickson.
Hendrickson (28-5, 12-1) and Pflugerville (27-6, 12-1) are tied for first in District 23-5A.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: In a showdown of top-10 teams, Hendrickson girls top Pflugerville
