Wylie freshman Sade Mathes attempts to drive past Wylie East’s defense on Tuesday. Photo by Oladipo Awowale / C&S Media
By Mark Saldana
The Wylie Lady Pirates closed out an extraordinary district season Tuesday night with a hard-fought 52-35 victory over their crosstown rivals, the Wylie East Lady Raiders, in a District 9-6A finale at Wylie East High School.
With the win, Wylie completed an undefeated 16-0 run through district play, finishing the regular season at 23-6 overall. Wylie East entered the night at 20-13 overall and 12-3 in district, already locked into postseason play but looking to spoil Wylie’s perfect record in the rivalry matchup.
The game was tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter before Wylie began to take control in the second. Skylar Harvey sparked the Pirates early in the frame with an and-one finish to make it 11-8, and Shamya Johnson added an easy layup to extend the lead to 16-10.
Wylie East answered with a three from Cori’yon Bolden and some tough interior scoring from Morgan Jennings, but Wylie’s pressure defense and transition play kept the Pirates in front. A late steal-and-score helped Wylie carry a 28-19 advantage into halftime.
The third quarter featured a defensive battle, but Wylie slowly built separation. Sidney Sanders converted a fast-break layup, and Johnson delivered another timely steal and finish as the Pirates pushed their lead to 37-26 heading into the final quarter.
Wylie East opened the fourth with full-court pressure and trimmed the margin to 37-28, but Wylie responded with steady offense. Harvey scored through contact in the paint, Sanders knocked down a pair of free throws, and the Pirates used smart ball control to stretch the lead late.
A late bucket from Wylie East’s Zoey Lundberg cut the deficit to 47-33, but Wylie sealed the rivalry win at the free-throw line to finish 52-35.
Wylie freshman Sade Mathes led all scorers with 16 points, followed by 11 from Johnson. Wylie East got nine points apiece from Jennings and Sanders.
After the game, Wylie head coach Nate Heckelman reflected on an unbeaten district record.
“Anytime you can go undefeated in this district, that’s special,” Heckelman said. “These girls are incredibly competitive, and they show up every day ready to work. Their unselfishness and toughness are what make this team successful.”
Heckelman said the focus now shifts to the postseason.
“Our message is simple — keep doing what we’ve been doing,” he added. “If we play the way we’re capable of playing, we’ll give ourselves a chance to win a lot of games in the playoffs.”
Wylie East head coach Meaghan Hodapp praised her team’s fight despite the loss.
“I’m really proud of how our girls competed tonight,” Hodapp said. “We are a great team, and we went toe-to-toe with them in a lot of stretches.”
Hodapp said the rivalry atmosphere prepared her squad for postseason intensity.
“Games like this only make us better,” she added. “We’ll learn from tonight, stay together, and be ready when playoff time comes.”
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