SNYDER — El Paso Hanks rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Fort Worth Dunbar 60-45 Friday in their Class 4A Region I semifinal matchup at Western Texas College.
Hanks (26-8) will face Aledo (30-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the regional final.Neither team led by more than four points through the first three quarters, but Hanks, which trailed 32-20 heading to the fourth, opened the final period on a 21-2 run.“We kind of did the same thing last round against Plainview. We were down by six heading into the fourth quarter and I tell you what, these kids just have some fun getting the win,” Hanks coach Patty Mullany said. “I have a couple of kids in that group who always say ‘if we work together we can do this.’ Everyone else just follows that attitude and it’s been a successful theme these past playoff games.”Senior forward Britney Molina finished with a game-high 17 points, 12 rebounds and junior guard Zulema Viescas added 12 points for the Lady Knights.Friday’s loss was a bitter end for Dunbar (21-13), which made its first appearance in the regional tournament since 2008. The Lady Wildcats were plagued by missed opportunities from the onset as they blew several open layups and missed 23 free throws.After Hanks opened the fourth period with a layup and a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute, everything started to unravel for Dunbar.“We stopped attacking the basket and started settling for jump shots when they moved to the zone,” Dunbar coach Nishia Walker said.Janeiqua Biscoe led Dunbar with 15 points and nine rebounds. Taylor Dorsey added 14 points and 11 rebounds.Jarret Johnson, 817-390-7760 Twitter: @JohnsonJarret
