Wylie East senior Sidney Sanders lifts the ball over her head before dribbling past Naaman Forest defense last Friday. Photo by Elijah Kloepping / C&S Media
By Art Stricklin
The Wylie East boys basketball team withstood a determined South Garland comeback in the fourth quarter to earn a 48-43 victory Monday night at the Williams Center.
The Raiders led by 15 points at the end of the third quarter, but South Garland went on an 11-1 run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to four points.
Wylie East coach Kortney Smith said he felt nervous watching the lead slip away but was proud of his team’s ability to hold on for the victory.
“We probably panicked there a bit, but we persevered to get the win, and that’s what we have to do some of the time,” Smith said.
The victory moved the Raiders to 7-5 in district play and 14-11 overall.
A thundering slam dunk by Praise Olufemi gave Wylie East a 40-26 lead at the end of the third quarter before South Garland began its comeback. The Titans missed two 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game that would have either tied the game or given them the lead. Wylie East failed to make a field goal in the fourth quarter but staved off the comeback with eight free throws in the final period.
Olufemi led all Wylie East scorers with 18 points, including the first 3-pointer of the game, which gave the Raiders a lead they never lost. Josiah Ward added 11 points.
“I thought that the first half was one of our better halves of district play,” Smith said.
Earlier in the evening, Wylie East proved too much for South Garland in an impressive 45-13 win by the Lady Raiders.
Wylie East never trailed in the contest, taking an early 9-0 lead in the first quarter and rarely being challenged in its return to the basketball court after a week away because of winter weather.
“We came into this game just wanting to work on our execution, taking care of the ball and getting the little things done we usually don’t have a chance to do,” head coach Meaghan Hodapp said.
Wylie East improved to 7-5 in district play and 14-11 overall. South Garland fell to 0-14 in district play and 7-20 overall.
“We are still in the thick of the district race, but we’ve still got to communicate better and play more as a team. We still have plenty of work to do,” Hodapp said.
Hodapp was able to play everyone in her lineup, often substituting three or four players at a time — something that rarely happens in district play.
“We only had one practice in over a week, so there wasn’t any use in going over this game — just come out playing hard,” she said.
Every player got into the game for the Lady Raiders, and everyone scored, including freshman Zoey Lundberg, who scored the final two points of the game on a late field goal. Sidney Sanders led Wylie East players with 11 points. Gracie Edge had eight, and Addison Bradshaw added seven.
0 Comments