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Top dog: Nothing upsetting for North in bi-district win over Wakeland
Photo courtesy of Kellie Anfosso / Kellie1982.Smugmug.com – McKinney North sophomore Mikaehla Connor, right, scored 10 points in the Lady Bulldogs' 57-55 bi-district playoff win over Frisco Wakeland on Monday.
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@acnpapers.com
PROSPER—McKinney North's giant-killing ways continued and ended with Monday's 57-55 bi-district playoff win over Frisco Wakeland.
After knocking off two high-profile competitors in the last week-and-a-half, the Lady Bulldogs will have trouble framing themselves as the underdog from here on out.
The Lady Wolverines entered Monday's contest on an eight-game winning streak and as the top seed from District 9-4A, where they compiled a 13-1 record. They finished the regular season ranked as the No. 20 4A team in the state by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches, two spots behind No. 18 Rockwall, who North beat, 41-40, down the stretch in district.
The way in which the Lady Bulldogs won Monday's game may make that more difficult, as they never trailed against Wakeland and had four players in double figures: junior Alexis Mason, freshman Chanterria Jackson and sophomore Amy Kleynhans all finished with 13 points, while sophomore Mikaehla Connor posted 10.
North turned to members of that group to seal the game down the stretch. Jackson hit a jumper to give North a 47-42 lead with 2:30 to go and came up with a steal a few possessions later to further limit Wakeland's chances at a rally.
Kleynhans scored an easy two points in isolation on an inside feed, a move the Lady Bulldogs worked to repeated success, and hit a pair of free throws in the game's waning moments to go along with solid rebounding work.
That mixture of strengths was key to North's success throughout Monday's contest.
“As a coach, I've always said that, in the end, rebounding and free throws will win a lot of games,” Oldham said. “I think we did a good job of both of those down the stretch tonight.”
As for Mason, when the game was on the line, the Lady Bulldogs made sure the ball was in her hands. After inconsistent free-throw shooting earlier in the fourth quarter, she was clutch when it mattered most and hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe in the final two minutes of play.
The Lady Bulldogs needed every point. With under a minute to go, Wakeland senior Faith Hunt hit consecutive 3-pointers to make it a one-score game, 55-53, with enough time for another Lady Wolverines' possession.
They fouled Mason to set up the opportunity, but she hit both free throws, allowing North to withstand one last Wakeland score.
Hitting big shots was nothing new for the Lady Bulldogs, as they opened Monday's win by dropping in four 3-pointers in the first quarter for an early 16-11 lead. That display helped them spread out the Wakeland defense, and they took advantage of the respect their shooters earned by mixing up their avenue of attack.
The Lady Wolverines kept pace with North throughout, but they could never swing the game's momentum far enough their way to take control. It looked as if they might when the third quarter began, as after coming out of halftime trailing 29-20, they went on a 7-2 run to cut their deficit to four.
North regained some ground before the end of the frame and carried a 38-32 advantage into the fourth, but Wakeland again made a push by trimming its deficit on a trey from Hunt (one of three she hit in the quarter) and a short toss-in from Bria Platenburg.
Daniele Westerfield paced the Lady Wolverines' effort with 16 points. Platenburg followed close behind with 15 points, Hunt posted 13, Alana Aguirre scored nine and Darian Dunn closed out Wakeland's total with two.
Alongside contributions from its double-digit scorers, North got six points from sophomore Danielle Coleman and two from junior Viona Vraniqi to help clinch another close win.
The Lady Bulldogs' road to the playoffs was paved with similar games. Since blowing out Rockwall-Heath, 69-20, on Jan. 24, they've played five consecutive games decided by three points or less and gone 3-2 in that time to finish as the fourth seed in District 10-4A and advance into the area round of the playoffs.
The disparity in seeding between North and Wakeland aside, Oldham thought his team was well prepared heading into postseason play both because of the strength of its district schedule and the close nature of its most recent games.
Monday's win only reinforced his impressions.
“We felt coming in that with out district and pre-district schedule, we weren't going to see anything new tonight,” Oldham said.
North will face Bryan Adams in the area round at a time and place to be determined. Bryan Adams defeated South Oak Cliff, 63-47, in the bi-district round.
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