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Growing gains: Injury, illness didn't slow Lady Panthers
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
On the surface, the Plano East girls basketball team finished third in District 10-5A and made the postseason for a fourth consecutive year.
The Lady Panthers even advanced further in the playoffs than last year, but still finished the season with a sub-.500 record.
But the fact East was suiting up for the second round against Mesquite Horn was a victory in its own right after the hand dealt to the Lady Panthers this season.
Before the season began, the Lady Panthers had their work cut out with just three players back in the fold from 2011-12. Already tasked with working in a bevy of newcomers and underclassmen, East was done no favors after injury and illness ravaged the squad early in the season.
It left the Lady Panthers shorthanded and Morrow having to alter her rotation on the fly, with East only able to dress seven players on some nights.
While East waited for anything resembling a clean bill of health, reinforcements from the JV were called up throughout the season, some of whom stuck for the remainder of the year like sophomore Doneesha Corbin and junior Lyntoria Warren.
"That in itself was character building for everyone," Morrow said. "The girls showed a lot of maturity in handling all that. It was very rewarding for the outcome that we had. I played at least 18 girls in four varsity games this year, which is craziness."
That meant getting players acclimated to prominent roles sooner than expected, especially after senior Jasmine Caston (Texas Tech) went down with an ankle injury in November.
Seniors Jordan Welch (9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds per game), Kennedy Munson (4.2 points) and freshman Daria McCutcheon (8.5 points) shouldered the workload as East trudged through non-district at 10-13.
The start to District 10-5A was no kinder, with East sinking to an 0-3 start.
A light at the end of the tunnel finally began to show Jan. 15 when the Lady Panthers welcomed Caston back and snapped their slump with a 52-46 win over McKinney Boyd.
"Once we got that first district win against Boyd, it set the tone," Morrow said. "It told us that regardless of where we were and who we played, [winning is] a possibility. The girls never lost hope and as they started getting healthy and coming back one by one, everybody got more fired up."
Vaulting out of the district cellar, East flipped the switch and proceeded to win five of its final eight regular season games, including a 45-33 victory over McKinney that gave East the district's No. 3 seed entering the playoffs.
Behind a breakneck tempo, Caston steadily returned to form, averaging 18 points and 6.8 boards in her final high school season while Welch pounded the glass and junior Letty Bornstad stretched the floor from long range.
The momentum didn't stop there as the Lady Panthers upended Richardson, 47-46, for a bi-district playoff win that featured an off-balance putback by Bornstad with eight seconds remaining and a late steal by McCutcheon to seal the upset.
"It was wonderful," Morrow said. "We were on cloud nine with that win. For some of them to even understand what it was like to be in the playoffs, I don't think they realized what it meant for other teams to be turning in their uniforms while they were still playing.
"Just the freshness of what the playoffs mean for those girls was exciting."
The ball movement and athleticism of Mesquite Horn proved too strong in the area round, with the Lady Jaguars ending East's season, 52-37. The Lady Panthers finished the year at 16-20 (4-6 in district).
It also closed the book on the varsity careers of seniors Brianna Havis, Kristen Bob, Munson, Welch and Caston while giving the near-two-thirds of the roster that will be intact for next season plenty to build on after a wild foray through their first varsity year.
"To see how the underclassmen and our inexperienced players responded this season," Morrow said, "it makes me have that much of a greater outlook for next season.
"This was a fun group to coach because they enjoyed every single moment."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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