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ARLINGTON -- Arlington Lamar snapped North Crowley's 38-game district winning streak and jumped back in the District 4-5A title race on Friday at Lamar High School.
In claiming a 51-49 victory, the Lady Vikings (18-12, 7-2) outscored the Lady Panthers 16-9 in the fourth quarter and survived a buzzer-beating shot attempt that clanged off the front rim.
The victory was Lamar's first in four tries against North Crowley this season. The Lady Vikings had lost to the Lady Panthers in the Cowtown Classic, in the consolation championship of the Mansfield Rotary Invitational and in the first round of district play.
"That win was huge for us," Lamar coach Errin Levels said. "I told the girls that every possession counts and that the first team to 50 points wins, and it was right. It came down to the final possession just like I thought it would."
Lamar took a 51-47 lead on a layup by senior post Branyia Medlock with 19 seconds remaining, but senior Kiara Davis hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left to pull North Crowley within two points.
The Lady Panthers (18-13, 8-1) forced a quick turnover on Lamar's ensuing inbounds when a trap at midcourt forced a tie-up. The possession arrow pointed in North Crowley's favor and they inbounded the ball at halfcourt with 4.5 seconds remaining.
Davis shook free but her 18-foot runner fell short as the horn sounded. Davis drilled four 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 19 points for the Lady Panthers, who suffered their first district loss since Jan. 27, 2009.
Senior point guard Brooke Grant scored a team-high 14 points for Lamar. Senior post Janay Keys and senior guard Jasmine Dubose both finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
"We ended their winning streak and beating them feels so good," Keys said. "It means so much; we always wanted to beat North Crowley. I'm so happy.
"This is one of our biggest goals -- we wanted to go to the playoffs and beat North Crowley."
Jarret Johnson, 817-390-7760
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