Archives > Sports
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Reversal of fortune: Wranglers gain measure of revenge with rout of Highland Park
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
After losing back-to-back district games to Highland Park and Carrollton Newman Smith during the first round of 10-4A play, West Mesquite has been waiting for a chance to avenge those losses.
The first chance for the Wranglers came on Friday and they made the most of it with a 76-49 rout of the Scots at West Mesquite High School.
West Mesquite moves into a tie for second place with Highland Park at 9-2 in district play but still trails the undefeated Trojans (11-0) in the race for the district title.
In the first meeting, Highland Park jumped out to a huge first-half lead and never looked back in a 65-54 victory.
This time around, West Mesquite turned the tables.
The Wranglers used their pressure defense to turn a one-point game into a comfortable lead on the strength of a 25-4 run in the final nine minutes of the first half.
The Scots tried to turn up the defensive intensity in the second half, but never got closer than 19.
Alexus Bertrand had a big game for West Mesquite, converting 11-of-12 from the free throw line on her way to 22 points. Jazmyne Walker had 16 points, Claudia Price scored 13 and Tamia Culligan added 10.
The Wranglers connected from behind the 3-point line three times in the opening minutes, with Price's trey giving them an 11-6 lead.
Highland Park answered and a 3-pointer from Kaitylyn Read brought them to within 11-10 late in the first quarter, but West Mesquite took control from there.
Bertrand knocked down a jumper and Alexis Jordan hit a free throw to make it 16-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Wranglers began to pull away early in the second as Bertrand and Walker each scored inside to push the lead to 10.
The Scots got back to within 23-14 on a 3-pointer by Alex Reynolds, but West Mesquite then scored the final 10 points of the half.
Price and Walker each scored four points during the run and Culligan added a putback as they took a 33-14 lead into halftime.
There was no let-up in the third quarter, as Price hit a layup, Bertrand knocked down a 3-pointer and Walker scored inside to push the advantage to 43-16.
The fourth quarter turned into a free throw contest, which was fine for West Mesquite, as it converted more than enough of its attempts to keep Highland Park from staging a serious threat.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Sports «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
