Texas High Comeback Falls Short Against Wylie, 72-61

LINDALE -- Too little, too late didn't tell the whole story of Texas High's 72-61 first-round loss to Wylie on Tuesday.

The Lady Tigers clawed back within seven points in the final minute after facing a 19-point deficit late in the third quarter, but couldn't finish the comeback in their Class 4A Region II bi-district defeat, which had a lot to do with sophomore forward Chanell Hayes' foul trouble.

Hayes, who scored a team-high 25 points, picked up her third foul with 1:39 remaining in the first quarter and Texas High (25-4) trailing 10-9. Hayes had already scored five points at that juncture, but with her out of the game with foul trouble, Wylie closed the final 9 1/2 minutes of the first half with a 24-8 run to take command.

Hayes scored 20 second-half points to fuel the comeback, which got a huge boost from fellow sophomore Jalissa Trotter, who scored eight points in two-plus minutes late in the fourth quarter to cut Wylie's lead, which had been 51-32, to 64-57 with 1:49 to play.

Ten seconds later, Texas High got a steal and fastbreak opportunity that would've cut that deficit to five points, but the Lady Tigers missed the layup. Texas High got within seven points twice in the final minute, but Wylie hit 6 of 8 free-throw attempts in the closing 64 seconds to hold off the Lady Tigers.

The Wylie backcourt duo of senior South Alabama signee Colby Davis and junior Kennedi Foreman excelled. Foreman had 25 points and four assists, while Davis added 19 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. The pair shot a combined 20-for-30 from the field, including 4-for-11 three-point shooting. Junior post Meunshae Stewart hit 5 of 6 shot attempts for 10 points.

Trotter complemented Hayes' 25 points with 13 of her own, plus nine rebounds (eight offensive), five assists, and three steals. Texas High junior guard K.T. Davis had 14 points and four rebounds.

Wylie, which shot 62.5 percent to Texas High's 39.2 percent, advances to play Mansfield Summit in an area playoff later this week. Texas High outrebounded Wylie 34-31, including an 18-7 edge on the offensive glass.

Wylie's win against Texas High was part of District 13-4A's four-game sweep of District 14-4A in the first round of the playoffs. In other first-round matchups, McKinney North routed Pine Tree 78-26, Lucas Lovejoy beat Mount Pleasant 40-33, and Mansfield Summit defeated Jacksonville 45-31.

---

Class 4A Region II
Bi-District Girls Basketball Playoff

Wylie 72, Texas High 61

Lindale High School

Wylie -- 12 22 17 21 -- 72
Texas High -- 10 7 19 25 -- 61

Wylie (13-19) -- Kennedi Foreman 25, Colby Davis 19, Meunshae Stewart 10, Taylor Jordan 6, Taelor Drew 4, Nicole Benjamin 2, Kako Cox 2, Anastasia Johnson 2, Brooklyn Moore 2.
Texas High (25-4) -- Chanell Hayes 25, K.T. Davis 14, Jalissa Trotter 13, Angel Crump 6, Jessrica Lott 3.