Irving MacArthur girls run away from Keller by halftime

By Gary T. Skrehart

Special to the Star-Telegram

COLLEYVILLE -- Keller had two points more than Irving MacArthur's Alexis Jones in the first half. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night.

MacArthur controlled the game from late in the first quarter to the finish for an impressive 64-47 Class 5A area-round playoff victory at Colleyville Heritage High School.

It looked like Jones could have played one-on-five and taken the win. She dominated Keller in every aspect of the game, finishing with 27 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 blocked shots. Jones scored 16 points in the first half, and MacArthur led 36-18 at intermission.

Jones might have had several more assists had her teammates been able to handle many of her no-look passes.

"She is something special," Irving MacArthur coach Suzie Oelschlegel said of Jones. "You cannot say enough about her. She plays at a different level."

Jones collided with a Keller player early, and her knee clipped the other player's knee brace. She seemed to favor the leg but did not appear to let it affect her game.

"It hurt but it did not bother me," Jones said. "I think we played well tonight on defense. I think that made the difference."

Keller looked to make a game of it early, trailing 11-9 with 1:10 left in the quarter. The Indians seemed to handle MacArthur's full-court press. Jones stepped it up from there and collected two quick free throws and a layup off a steal to stretch the lead to 15-9 to end the quarter.

MacArthur extended its lead to 26-12 in the second quarter. The Cardinals discarded the full-court defense and began dominating with less pressure.

"We switched to match up better against their perimeter shooters," Oelschlegel said.

By the end of the third quarter, MacArthur led 50-30. Keller was within 56-42 with three minutes to play. Taylor Vincent led Keller with 20 points.

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