Why Carroll’s rematch with Marcus has more than just redemption at stake

When the Southlake Carroll girls basketball team takes the court against Flower Mound Marcus for the second of their district series on Friday, there’s more on the line than just avenging an earlier loss.

Certainly, being tagged with a district loss is always disappointing to a team in the playoff hunt, but giving up a sweep — and a possible tiebreaker criteria — is even more burdensome. The earlier 39-35 loss to Marcus, a 2-4 team heading into their game with Euless Trinity, was even more of a head-scratcher.

The Lady Dragons lost to Flower Mound and defeated Trinity before seeing Marcus again. They’re fighting for the fourth playoff spot in District 5-6A.

In the first game with Marcus, Morrison said the evenly-matched teams each made shots and it came down to the second half where Marcus outscored Carroll 26-19.

“Marcus always plays us tough and the kids play hard. They protect the ball. It comes down to ball protection and rebounds,” Morrison said.

“They did the thing teams do in the last two minutes to win.”

So, a win would be about revenge, right?

“It would be redemption,” she responded. “Redemption that we’re making better decisions.”

Morrison said when they play for the second time, her team needs to just make better decisions.

But, they’ll also have a bit more experience on the floor with leaders such as Jillian Sowell and the availability of Faith Knight.

Knight, who recently received her approval for play by the UIL, first saw action in the Hebron contest.

Knight, a 5-10 ½ addition, is versatile, Morrison said, and helps bring senior leadership.

“Scout her or not, she has a high IQ and gives us more depth,” Morrison said about Marcus seeing her for the first time.

“If we win, it will mean the team is more balanced and we protected the ball and have better offensive flow and control the boards.”

Another win in the district standings is always a plus, too, regardless of where it’s earned.

Flower Mound is likely the slight favorite in the district, but Trophy Club Nelson is also having a solid start.

Even with Hebron being winless thus far, Morrison said she won’t be surprised by the Lady Hawks in pulling off an upset win over a top-tier team. The same goes for Trinity who is initially struggling.

“It’s a tricky district,” Morrison said. “A 1-5 team can get you.

“The landscape of high school sports is talent vs. execution. You’ve got to execute.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2018 at 1:31 PM with the headline "Why Carroll’s rematch with Marcus has more than just redemption at stake."