Girls basketball playoffs recap: Haltom snaps drought; Martin, Lake Worth cruise
Send scores and stats to bgosset@star-telegram.com
Haltom 49, Trimble Tech 40
After scoring just three points in the third quarter, Haltom found its groove in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night during its Class 6A Region 1 bi-district game at Burleson High School.
Sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Layla Powell, the Lady Buffalos overcame a 34-26 third-quarter deficit and went on the defeat Fort Worth Trimble Tech, 49-40.
Haltom (17-13) outscored the Lady Bulldogs, 22-6, in the fourth quarter to claim its first playoff victory since 2009. The Lady Buffalos defeated Mansfield, 61-49, that year.
“We knocked down some big shots in the fourth quarter,” said Haltom coach Mandy Rogers, who last led her team to the playoffs in 2017. “This was the first playoff experience for all of these kids. I felt like we finally settled down in the fourth quarter. We were maybe a little hurried with our three-pointers earlier in the game.”
Haltom is slated to play El Paso Pebble Hills (18-14) in an area-round game at 4 p.m. Friday at Andrews High School.
With 3:04 to play, Powell hit a 3-pointer that gave Haltom a 39-38 lead. It was the Lady Buffalos’ first lead since 4:40 in the second quarter when they led 19-18. Powell followed with another 3-pointer that put Haltom up 42-40.
It was a lead the Lady Buffs wouldn’t relinquish as they outscored Tech (27-9), 7-0 in the final 2:22 of the game.
“Some kids stepped up and made some big shots in the fourth quarter and our rebounding picked up,” Rogers said. “I think those two things combined really pulled us through.”
Madeline Fisher, a sophomore post, paced Haltom with 13 points. Powell added 12 while sophomore guard Auriah Palmer finished with 10. Junior guard Milli Igiraneza scored nine.
Tech junior Jada Hollie led all scorers with 19 points. Senior Bre’anna Smith tallied eight points for the Lady Bulldogs.
Arlington Martin 63, Euless Trinity 43
For the seventh time in nine seasons, the Martin Warriors are bi-district champions.
The No. 4 ranked Class 6A team in the state defeated the Trojans in a Region 1 bi-district game at Arlington High to improve to 33-4 on the season.
Martin will play El Paso Montwood in the area round. Montwood beat Midland Lee 42-30.
“It was really a team effort tonight,” Martin coach Brooke Brittain said. “Everyone had big points and important minutes.”
Lake Worth 45, Oak Cliff Faith Family 25 (Monday)
John Ladd took the head coaching position at Lake Worth last season. The Bullfrogs hadn’t made the playoffs in five years.
Lake Worth made the playoffs then this season, the Bullfrogs made it again and won a playoff game against Faith Family in the 4A Region 2 bi-district round.
According to Ladd, it’s a first in 51 years.
Lake Worth (25-10) will next face Aubrey in the area round, 6:30 p.m. Friday at Keller Central.
“The girls bought into the motto of ‘family’ this season. We’ve stayed together with a great attitude. That’s made them realize they can accomplish greatness and be as good as anyone else,” Ladd said.
The Bullfrogs started slow vs. Faith Family, falling 7-0 early.
“Talked about staying positive and fighting back against their 2-3 zone,” Ladd said. “What we were doing wasn’t working so we changed it. We had a big second quarter.”
Lake Worth trailed 9-5 after the first quarter, but outscored Faith 16-6 in the second to take a 21-15 lead at intermission.
Then the Bullfrogs won the third quarter, 8-4, and the fourth, 16-6.
“We started to play Lake Worth ball. We were in full-court press and really played a great three quarters,” Ladd said. “Really impressed with the girls’ pose down the stretch.”
Ladd also praised the LW superintendent and athletic director.
N’Kyah Edwards led LW with 14 points while sister Myah added 10. Aaliyah Franklin and Zoe Young added 9 and 8, respectively.
This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 10:12 PM.
