Sachse Pulls Away From Longview in Second Half + Ends Lady Lobos’ Season in Bi-District Round

VAN -- The Longview Lady Lobos hung with District 11-5A champion Sachse for a half, but the Lady Mustangs turned up their defensive intensity early in the third quarter and turned out the lights on Longview's season.

Sachse broke open what was a three-point game at halftime into a nine-point advantage less than two minutes into the third period and ran away with a 46-34 win over Longview in their Class 5A bi-district playoff Monday night at Van High School.

Longview, which held led for just 23 seconds all game, finished its season at 21-11 after defeating Rockwall-Heath on Friday to earn the last postseason spot from 12-5A. Sachse (19-6) will face Plano in the area round of the playoffs later this week.

Moriah Reed led a balanced scoring effort with 11 points for Sachse, which had eight players crack the scoring column.

But it was a suffocating defensive effort, spear-headed by senior guard Lorian Benjamin that proved to be the difference in the second half. Benjamin had six steals on the night and four in the third quarter, in which Sachse outscored Longview 18-9 to enter the fourth with a 12-point lead. Benjamin added eight points and four assists on offense.

With Sachse clinging to a 20-17 lead to begin the third, Benjamin had steals on consecutive Longview possessions early in the period that led to transition layups. She then forced a third-straight Lady Lobos turnover that led to another Sachse basket, which stretched the Lady Mustangs' lead to 26-17 with 6:01 to play in the third.

Junior guard Ravan Chism, who led Longview with 13 points and three steals of her own, knocked down a mid-range jumper to cut the Sachse lead to 30-24 midway through the quarter. But the Lady Mustangs went on a 6-0 run to go back up by 12 -- 36-24 -- on a pair of Alexis Rene buckets and a transition layup by Reed off an assist from Benjamin.

Longview did a stellar job defensively, containing Sachse's 6-3 junior post Ashley Hearn, who is widely considered to be among the state's top college prospects in the 2015 class. Hearn did not score her first field goal until the third quarter and finished with four points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Sachse eventually extended its lead to 17 points in the fourth quarter before Longview ended the game with a 5-0 spurt.

Longview senior forward Maci Hopkins scored six points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the final performance of her high school career. Kiambryia Sheridan, Longview's only other senior starter, finished with four points and six boards.

Sachse 46, Longview 34

Girls Class 5A Region II Bi-District Playoff

At Van High School

Longview              10    7    9    8   --   34
Sachse                 14    6  18    8   --   46
LONGVIEW (21-11) -- Ravan Chism, 13; Maci Hopkins, 6; Kiara Ross, 6; Kiambryia Sheridan, 4; Mikayla Smith, 4; Yasmine Bradley, 1.
SACHSE (19-6) -- Moriah Reed, 11; Lorian Benjamin, 8; Makayla Isler, 7; Courtney Blankenship, 6; Alexis Rene, 6; Ashley Hearn, 4; Nekiya Jackson, 2; Alyssa Dillard, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Longview: Chism (3), Ross (2). Sachse: Isler, Reed.