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Quest for perfection: North girls top Greenville, remain perfect in district
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
Backed by a pair of impressive performances from sophomore Chanterria Jackson and senior Alexis Mason, the McKinney North girls basketball team throttled district rival Greenville, 69-32, in Tuesday night's home win.
"It is hard not to talk about the records and everything we've done this season, but we remain focused on what's ahead of us," said Michael Oldham, North head coach. "And that focus is on (the state tournament in) Austin. After we won the district championship a few nights ago there was very little celebration, because we know we've got bigger goals on our mind."
The win is yet another accomplishment in North's record-setting season, which includes tying a mark for the program's most wins in a single season at 27, last accomplished in the 2009-2010 school year.
"I like where my kids are at," Oldham said. "We're still preaching the one-game-at-a-time mentality, though, because I've been on the other end. I've been in a 13-1 district season where we were 13-0 in the last game and dropped it. It's a terrible taste in your mouth. Our team is focused on not letting this opportunity slip through their fingers. It's definitely a goal."
Jackson led the way for North with a game-high 22 points.
"Chanterria develops every game," Oldham said. "She's expanding her game every time we play. I think over the playoffs and the summer she's going to blow up and really make her mark on the Metroplex basketball scene. Right now she's a bit of a secret."
Not far behind Jackson was Mason's strong night, which included 19 points.
"She pushed the ball great tonight and shared it really well," Oldham said. "She had about seven assists and six or seven steals to go with her 19 points. She has upped her level of play in this second half of district."
North controlled the tempo early, storming out to a 19-8 lead after just the first quarter.
"It's always important for us and our style to get that lead because we like to change schemes and defenses a lot," Oldham said. "If you're in a one- or two-possession game, it makes it harder to do that."
Perhaps most impressive is that the Lady Bulldogs defense held their district rival to under 10 points in each quarter.
"I am proud of that," Oldham said. "I'm actually most proud of limiting them to seven points in the fourth. At times this season that's been the quarter where we relax a little bit, so I was glad to see we closed out the game the way we did."
While North has played well all season, there are still a few areas that trouble them from time to time, including ball control.
"I thought we were a little sloppy early," Oldham said. "We turned it over 10 times in the first half and there are times where we only turn it over 10 times in an entire game, so I would really like to clean that up."
North came out stronger in the second half, limiting their mistakes to only six turnovers the rest of the way.
Only two games stand between North and a perfect district season. The Lady Bulldogs host Wylie East on Friday before closing out the regular season with a trip to Denison on Tuesday. Tipoff for both times is 6:30 p.m.
While Jackson and Mason have been key players all season long, Oldham also liked the performances he got from freshman Jocelyn Scott and senior Viona Vraniqi, among others, as he knows that elite teams are more than just top-heavy.
"I'm really proud of the performances I've seen from many of our girls at various positions," he said. "They've all contributed to our success. We wouldn't be the team we are without them."
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