No. 2 Lipan Holds Off Elysian Fields 63-47 in Thursday Quarterfinal at Tenaha Tournament

TENAHA -- Lipan's balanced, inside-outside offensive attack built a double-digit first-half lead to propel the highly-ranked Lady Indians to a 63-47 win over Elysian Fields in Thursday's quarterfinal round at the Tenaha Holiday Hoops tournament.

Elysian Fields whittled Lipan's lead to eight points, 52-44, with 2:46 remaining thanks to a surge in the latter portions of the third and first half of the fourth quarter, but Lipan got consecutive three-point plays from Kayla Wheeler and Rhiana Michou in a 21-second span for a 61-44 advantage with 1:26 remaining.

Lipan, ranked second in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class A Division II poll, plays White Oak at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Tenaha's Special Events Center in the tournament semifinals.

Michou was a key part of a Lipan offensive attack that showed balance throughout the game. Point guard Taylor Herrera his six three-pointers to finish with a game-high 20 points, while Michou had 14 points, including 5-for-6 free-throw shooting.

Post Shauna Coleman scored all of her points in the first half and gave the Lady Indians a presence inside. Coleman had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots. Freshman Lanie Roberts had 10 points, four boards, and two steals.

Chesney Spears had a big game for Elysian Fields with 19 points and eight rebounds. Teammate Janice Strange was a force on the glass, finishing with 10 points and a game-high 18 rebounds, which helped the Lady Jackets win the boards 37-32. Kaylee Prather displayed a solid jump stop, which she used repeatedly to help her scored 12 points and dish out three assists.

Elysian Fields' Hannah Crisp had five points and two steals and made several plays that helped the Lady Jackets during their second-half surge that got them back in the game.

Lipan hit six first-half three-pointers to gain leads of 17-11 and 36-23 at the end of the first and second quarters, respectively. The Lady Indians pushed their lead to 45-26 on a Katelyn Martin bucket late in the third, but EF answered with a 10-0 run to pull within single digits less than two minutes into the fourth.

After that, Elysian Fields twice missed a pair of free throws, preventing the Lady Jackets from getting closer than the 52-44 deficit with 2:46 remaining.

Elysian Fields plays Slocum in a fifth-place bracket game at noon Friday in Tenaha's Tiger Gymnasium.

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Tenaha Holiday Hoops
Girls Quarterfinal

No. 2 Lipan 63, Elysian Fields 47

Special Events Center, Tenaha

Elysian Fields -- 11 12 9 15 -- 47
Lipan -- 17 19 9 18 -- 63

Elysian Fields -- Chesney Spears 19, Kaylee Prather 12, Janice Strange 10, Hannah Crisp 5, Jacey Doyle 1.
Lipan -- Taylor Herrera 20, Rhiana Michou 14, Shauna Coleman 10, Lanie Roberts 10, Larissa Prim 3, Kayla Wheeler 3, Katelyn Martin 2, Tallen Halliday 1.