Getting to the top of District 3-5A has meant leaning on who’s been there before for the Tascosa Lady Rebels this season, and Friday night’s key game at Palo Duro definitely showed how well that strategy has worked.
After appearing in control early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Rebels saw their lead completely evaporate against a young but game Palo Duro team which also had definite playoff ambitions. When Tascosa needed points in the final two minutes, though, a senior stepped up big time.
With the Lady Rebels trailing the Lady Dons by a point, Alex Carter made some huge long distance calls. Carter hit three 3-pointers to give the Lady Rebels a lead they never relinquished, and that was enough to give Tascosa a 47-42 victory and a one-game lead atop the district.
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Carter and fellow senior Devaeh Johnson both had 19 points to carry the Lady Rebels (28-3, 13-2 in 3-5A), who can clinch the outright district title and a No. 1 playoff seed in 5A Division I with a victory in next Tuesday’s regular season finale at home against Lubbock Coronado. Tascosa can do no worse than tie with Amarillo High for the district crown and top seed in Division I.
The Lady Rebels are in that position because of a heartbreaking last-second 39-38 loss at Amarillo High a week earlier. That served as motivation against Palo Duro (26-9, 10-5).
“It’s a very experienced group and I think the only way to figure out how to win in big moments is to get into big moments,” said first-year Tascosa coach Zac Tabor. “You’re going to stumble along the way but I think we learned something from that Amarillo High game a week ago and that showed tonight. It got close in the fourth quarter and they took the lead against us. I think being in that situation a week ago really helped tonight.”
As things unfolded in the second half, though, a hair-raising finish didn’t seem that likely. The Lady Dons jumped out to a 14-5 lead after one quarter, but after that, their offense seemed to go AWOL for the next two quarters. Tascosa opened the second quarter by scoring 14 straight points and led 21-18 at halftime, then opened things up in the third quarter, as Johnson scored 16 points in those two quarters to carry Tascosa offensively.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Lady Rebels had their biggest lead of the game at 36-24, but the Lady Dons came alive and made a 14-0 run of their own to take the lead. Zeinab Deng did most of the heavy lifting offensively for Palo Duro, scoring 15 of her team-leading 18 points in the fourth quarter. Tayleeh Meander made a free throw which gave the Lady Dons, ironically, a 39-38 lead with under two minutes left.
Tascosa made sure that score wasn’t repeated, though. Carter, who hit a 3-pointer at Amarillo High with seven seconds left for a one-point lead before Amarillo High’s Tyler Held hit a game-winner at the buzzer, seized the spotlight this time.
On Tascosa’s first possession after Deng’s free throw, Carter set up on the left side, and drained a three for a 41-39 lead. After another Tascosa defensive stop, Carter hit from approximately the same spot on the floor, stretching the lead to 44-39.
Meander made two more free throws to cut the lead to 44-41, but with less than a minute left, Carter hit a final three to make it 47-41, and put away the game.
“She’s hitting the shots, but it’s a matter of everybody working and moving and getting spacing so I’m super proud of (Carter),” Tabor said. “At this point she’s definitely showed she can hit some big shots in a big environment so I’d like to have her shoot it.”
Meander had 10 points for Palo Duro, whose playoff fate remains up in the air. The Lady Dons might have to win at Lubbock Monterey in the regular season finale next Tuesday to make the postseason.
Tascosa, meanwhile, already knows it has a playoff spot clinched, it’s only a matter of seeding. The Lady Rebels control their own fate now.
“I think that’s huge for our program and huge for our girls,” Tabor said. “After the Amarillo High loss we came together and said that everything is still in front of us as far as winning an outright district title. It might may be the best district in the state in 5A from top to bottom.”