LUBBOCK – Defense wins championships, and that is exactly the formula the Panhandle Ettes used to take down Cisco in a hard fought 41-32 victory to claim in the UIL Class 2A Division I state semifinal championship in front of a packed house at Frenship Memorial High School on Tuesday night.
The Ettes (37-1), who have now won 36 straight games after Tuesday’s victory, are set to play in the programs first state title game since winning it all in 2017.
Panhandle now has its eyes set on Mason (40-1) in the UIL Class 2A Division I state championship clash, scheduled for 5 p.m., on Thursday at San Antonio’s Alamodome.
This semifinal game has been circled by the Ettes for a full calendar year. In the semifinals last year, the Ettes were knocked off by Nocona 46-41.
With a redemption tour on their minds, the Ettes made it a mission to not only get back to the state semifinals, but win this game and punch a ticket to San Antonio.
“We have talked about that since day one this year,” Panhandle head coach Rob Schmucker said. “We were so close last year and didn’t get the job done. We still have work to do and our goals aren’t met yet. We have one more game left and we want to be focused going in.”
Senior Addison McCoid echoed her coaches comment.
“We have played with a chip on our shoulder,” McCoid said. “We just wanted to get this win and get to San Antonio. I’ve wanted this since I was in eighth grade. We now have one more to go win.”
The Panhandle defense set the tone from the start as Panhandle led all 32 minutes against the Lady Loboes (35-3). From the opening moments of the first quarter, the Ettes defense created havoc on the Cisco offense, smothering standout player Pearson Hearne. Panhandle turned its defense into offense, taking an early 5-0 lead built off an Evan Shadid 3-ball, and then a 10-6 advantage by the end of the quarter thanks to a pair of Riley Segura free-throws.
The Ettes defense was outstanding during that opening stanza allowing Cisco just one field goal, and that carried into the second quarter.
The Ettes continued to cover up the Lady Loboes, forcing mistakes and countering on the offensive end. Even when Cisco saw back-to-back jumpers from Hearne, Allie Ashley answered in a hurry with a jumper from the elbow as time expired sending Panhandle to the locker room, up 20-12 at the break.
At this point, Cisco had four total shots made.
“Our defense was tremendous the entire game,” Schmucker said. “We weren’t clean on offense, but we were excellent on defense. Addison (McCoid) and Ell Robinson did such a great job on Hearne. I think we were only to slow them down.”
In the second half, Panhandle was able to push the lead to as many as 13, going up 32-19 with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Down the stretch, Segura was clutch at the free-throw line, going 6-of-8 in the final eight minutes.
“It feels great to get this win,” Segura said. “Losing to Nocona last year was such a tough feeling. We’re not finished yet, we still have one more game and we’re ready. I can’t talk enough about how great the defense was for us in this game against Cisco. We were in their face the entire four quarters, and chase loose balls. The goal on offense was to attack, and though we did have some mistakes, I feel we attacked the basket and made the plays we needed.”
Segura ended the night scoring a team-high 17 points. McCoid, Ashley and Shadid all followed with six. Despite being doubled and taking on constant pressure the entire four quarters, Cisco’s Hearne did end the night with a game-high 19 points.