The Cooldown: Week 22
Cover Photo via the Dallas Morning News/ Steve Hamm
It’s officially playoff season for the girls while the guys wrap up the regular season and tip-off the playoffs early next week. There’s just four weeks remaining in basketball season and those four weeks will be full of high stakes elimination games. There are plenty of storylines on both the men’s and women’s side, so let’s dive into some of the games.
Southlake Carroll eliminates North Crowley
Southlake Carroll eliminated North Crowley 57-40 in the bi-district round of the playoffs on Monday night. The Jordan sisters powered the Lady Dragons to another win, combining to score 50 of Southlake Carroll’s 57 points. The most impressive part of that was the four sisters combined to go a perfect 19-for-19 from the free throw line.
Natalia Jordan led the Lady Dragons with 15 points while Milania added 11 points and Nadia scored 10 points, giving Southlake Carroll three double-digit scorers. Southlake Carroll gets El Paso Americas in the area round. Americas eliminated Midland Legacy 45-38 in the bi-district round. The road to San Antonio isn’t an easy one, but the Jordan sisters and Southlake Carroll have the talent to get there. Keep an eye on this team over the next few weeks.
Plano East defeats Hebron
Plano East took down Hebron 63-55 last Friday night and is one game away from a perfect regular season. The Panthers take on Flower Mound at home on Feb. 13 with a shot at perfection. Taking a perfect season into the playoffs would be a lot of pressure, but it could result in a legendary championship run for Plano East.
Jon Tran led the way for Plano East against Hebron with 20 points. DJ Hall chipped in 18 points and Jordan Mizell scored 11 points. Narit Chotikavanic scored six points in the win. Jalen Haynes led the way for Hebron with 15 points. Cameron Mennsfield and Graham Moore each scored 11 points and Josh Massingale added eight points. Hebron led the game 15-13 after the first quarter, but dropped each of the next three quarters in the loss.
Plano East’s strength is the how many different players can get a bucket on the offensive end. There are a handful of guys that can lead the team in scoring on any given night, and that type of quality typically plays well in February and March. Every Plano East game the rest of this season is appointment viewing with a shot at a perfect season on the line.
Keller defeats Eaton
Keller took down Eaton 55-50 last Friday night, but suffered a loss at the same time as earning another win. Just minutes into the game, star guard Brooks Bahr suffered a leg injury that kept him on the sideline for the rest of the game. This comes just days after the Fort Worth Star-Telegram published an article about Keller being a potential title contender with Bahr leading the way. It’s safe to say that without Bahr, Keller’s shot at winning a state championship becomes slim to none.
Rhett Schank stepped up and led the way on the offensive end for Keller with 10 points. Cooper Guerra scored nine points and Alex Peterson scored eight points. Quinn Estep, Steven Ramirez and Luke Fabian all scored seven points in the win. Kaden McClurg and Lamont Stokes led the way for Eaton with 11 points each. Emmanuel Tarpeh added eight points for the Eagles in the loss. Bahr is the premier scorer for the Indians, but Keller does have a number of options offensively behind him. Hopefully Bahr can return at some point in the playoffs.
Player of the Week
My Player of the Week is Duncanville’s Kayden Edwards! Duncanville took down rival DeSoto 88-80 on Friday night behind 32 points from Edwards. Of those 32 points Edwards scored 21 points from behind the three point line! Duncanville will need Edwards to continue to stuff the stat sheet throughout the playoffs if a trip back to San Antonio is in the cards.
Cover Photo of Duncanville's Kayden Edwards courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Special Contributor Steve Hamm.