Lady Dragons end season against tough Flower Mound foe
Sometimes, back-and-forth games just don’t turn out the way coaches and fans want. Usually, execution in the final moments splits the difference between victory and the season ending.
Carroll’s girls basketball team enjoyed a great season at 26-7. But some frustrations inside the final 20 seconds of regulation led to a flat overtime and jerseys being turned in. Flower Mound scored the first eight points of the extra period to come away with a 61-55 victory in the Class 6A Region I area playoff.
Flower Mound tied the game, 51-51, with 11 seconds to play in the game. Carroll senior point guard Kennedy Leonard took a try for the game-winning jumper, but just missed. Carroll struggled from the field shooting 29 percent.
“We gave ourselves every opportunity to win the game,” Carroll coach Teri Morrison said. “Kennedy’s look just rimmed out. We would get up three or four and then there would be some strange calls. We had some moving screens that we don’t normally do. We just got out of our comfort zone. But that’s what happens in a game like that.”
Carroll flourished with its devastating duo of Priscilla Smeenge and Leonard. The two combined for 45 points (Smeenge 24 and Leonard 21) but the team only had four scorers. Flower Mound 6-4 junior post Lauren Cox had 26. She’s averaged 28.5 points through the first two playoff games.
Of course, Carroll had been hoping that 2014-2015 would be the year that it would surpass the third round of the playoffs and advance to the Region I tournament. This season fell a round short of that.
Yet the lady Dragons are not alone reminding everyone how rugged Region I is. State championship-caliber programs in Duncanville, DeSoto and Euless Trinity have also finished their seasons. But No. 4 Plano West remains.
“If you look at this region, it’s probably the hardest in the state to get through,” Morrison said. “There are some really good teams in it.”
Taking stock
Carroll’s overall record earned it a Top 10 ranking in the state of Texas. The Lady Dragons finished the District 7-6A season at 12-0. Plus, it got everything out of its season leader in Leonard. Leonard will continue her basketball career at the University of Colorado.
“We were one of the top teams in the state and we got better every time,” Morrison said. “We had good balance and Kennedy really grew as a leader. Her growth and maturity were the best of her four years. I believe our season was outstanding because of what we did in district, and we won two of the three tournaments we played in.”
Looking ahead
The 2015-2016 season will have a different look with Kennedy graduating. Morrison acknowledges that there is no replacing her at the point. However, look for two players to compete for that starting position in Brook Lay and Lourdes Buksch. Buksch spent the 2014-2015 season with the junior varsity. Morrison likes her quickness.
Post Anna Hurlburt returns along with arguably the most important remaining part of the offense in Smeenge.
“We’re not going to be as tall, but we’re going to be more defensive-oriented,” Morrison said. “There are some kids coming from middle school that I’m excited to see how they will perform next year.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Lady Dragons end season against tough Flower Mound foe."