The Cooldown- Week 23
Cover Photo courtesy of the Dallas Morning News and Staff Photographer Liz Rymarev.
It is officially the best part of the Texas high school basketball season. The women are two rounds into the playoffs and have four rounds remaining, while the men tip-off the playoffs on Monday night with the bi-district round. There were plenty of fantastic games in the opening two rounds of the women’s playoffs, and the first two rounds of the men’s playoffs has the potential to be just as entertaining. With that being said, let’s recap a few of the best games from the metroplex over the last week.
Plano East eliminates South Grand Prairie
One of the more surprising results from the area round was Plano East’s 48-44 win over South Grand Prairie to bounce the No. 7 ranked team in the state from the playoffs in the second round. Those who are more familiar with Plano East might not be as surprised with the result. Star freshman Arianna Robinson has the ability to change a game, and she did just that in the Panthers win over South Grand Prairie. Robinson finished with 17 points to lead the Panthers, including eight of Plano East’s 18 points in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Borders contributed 14 points and Hailey Reed scored 10 points to give Plano East three players in double-figures. Sema Udo chipped in five points and Didi Chineke added two points to round out the scoring for Plano East. Taylor Barned led South Grand Prairie in scoring with 20 points. Spirit Sheriff scored 12 points and Autumn Sherman added six points. Cedraiah Patterson scored three points, Janae Johnson added two points, and Rylee Hudson scored a point to round out the scoring for South Grand Prairie. Plano East will face a Keller Timber Creek squad that defeated Lake Dallas 55-40 and El Paso Franklin 56-40 to open the playoffs in the regional semifinal round.
Lincoln eliminates Frisco Panther Creek
Dallas Lincoln has looked like the title favorite in 4A all season long. The Lady Tigers entered the playoffs as the top ranked 4A team in the state, but got an early playoff test from No. 18 ranked Frisco Panther Creek. Lincoln passed that test with relative ease in a 57-44 win over the Panthers. Lincoln led 13-7 after a quarter and 29-14 at the half. The Lady Tigers featured a balanced scoring attack with several players in double-figures and two more players with at least five points scored. Lanae Dallas led the way for Lincoln with 16 points, while Grace Spencer scored 14 points and Jada Patterson chipped in 13 points. Ar’jayla Elder scored six points and T’Anna Sadler scored five points. Sy’nyah Gulley chipped in three points to round out the scoring for Lincoln. Jaeda Wade led the way for Frisco Panther Creek with 19 points while Dany Anguiano Lopez added 11 points. Senese Rainey scored six points, Torie Massanet added five points, and Jaela Wade scored three points to round out the scoring for Frisco Panther Creek. Lincoln will face Sunnyvale in the regional semifinal on Monday night, with the winner of that game taking on the winner of Godley and North Lamar in the regional final.
Frisco Lone Star beats Highland Park
Moving it over to the men’s side, Frisco Lone Star beat Highland Park 80-74 in one of the more entertaining regular season finales last week. This game was close throughout and obviously featured a lot of scoring. Frisco Lone Star used a committee approach while Highland Park got a scoring outburst from its star player, Henry Beckett. Bryant Robinson and Chris Knauls led Frisco Lone Star in scoring with 14 points each. Josh Weems added 12 points and Trey Wright chipped in 11 points to give the Rangers four players in double-figures. Justin Harper and Quincy Baker each scored eight points while Alec Jackson chipped in six points. Henry Beckett scored close to half of Highland Park’s total points, finishing with 36 points. Canon Wyatt scored 13 points and Colin Noble added seven points in the loss. Highland Park will compete in the 5A D-I playoff bracket and opens the playoffs against Frisco Emerson on Tuesday night. Frisco Lone Star competes in the 5A D-II playoff bracket and takes on Frisco Memorial in the bi-district round on Tuesday night.
Player of the Week
My Player of the Week is Plano East’s Arianna Robinson! The freshman scored 17 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter, in a 48-44 win over South Grand Prairie in the area round. It’s impressive for a freshman to serve as your closer in the biggest game of your season, and that’s exactly what Plano East got from Robinson in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's win. If this is your first time hearing of Robinson, it certainly won’t be the last. She still has the rest of this playoff run with Plano East on top of three more full seasons of high school basketball. She will be terrorizing opponents across the metroplex for quite a while.