Sachse senior Charish Thompson attempts to regain possession of the ball during the first half of a Region II-6A Division I area-round girls basketball playoff game against Duncanville from Forney High School on Thursday, Feb. 13. Thompson finished with 19 points. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media
By David Wolman
FORNEY – Sachse head girls’ basketball coach Donna McCullough knew it was coming.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of a tie game and Duncanville in the double bonus because of six team fouls on Sachse, Pantherettes sophomore Samari Holmen dribbled through the right side of the lane.
Sachse junior Arianna Gregory saw that Holmen was dribbling towards her and appeared to get in position to draw an offensive foul on Holmen.
Holmen rose in the air and drove her left knee into the body of Gregory, but a blocking foul was called on Gregory with 3.8 seconds remaining.
Holmen made one free throw to put Duncanville ahead by one point and a long heave by Sachse senior Charish Thompson from just past half-court was well off the mark, as Duncanville edged the Lady Mustangs in a 39-38 Class 6A Division I area-round playoff contest from Forney High School on Thursday.
“I felt that Ari did what she was supposed to do,” McCullough said. “She stepped up, and I feel like that she took a charge. It was maybe questionable. I knew they were going to drive. That’s what they always do. It’s a big play.”
The questionable call ended what was another fantastic season on the hardwood for Sachse and a wildly entertaining game between Class 6A’s No. 5 Duncanville and No. 12 Sachse that lived up to the hype.
Sachse (30-6), fresh off a nail-biting 41-36 win over Rockwall in bi-district just three days prior, was firing on all cylinders against the defending Class 6A state champion to begin the ballgame.
Thompson scored four of Sachse’s first eight points and the Lady Mustangs took an 8-2 lead after senior Camille Logan sank two free throws with 5:27 remaining in the opening quarter.
Duncanville turned up its defensive pressure and tried their best to wear down Sachse’s offense, but McCullough credited her guards, Logan, Thompson and senior Ckaylynn Anderson, for not caving into the pressure.
“They made it difficult for us, but a lot of credit to our guards,” McCullough said. “They didn’t quit and kept at it.”
The Lady Pantherettes was particularly focused on forcing the ball out of the hands of Thompson.
One Duncanville fan yelled, “She can’t drive to her left.”
That fan got Duncanville to comply on one play with less than a minute remaining in the second quarter.
Despite that plea, Thompson still found a way to dribble the ball with her off hand through the left side of the Lady Pantherette defense and to the basket for a layup, which reduced the Lady Mustangs’ deficit to 20-19.
Thompson withstood all of the defensive pressure that she faced throughout the game, pouring in a team-high 19 points in her final game donning a Lady Mustang uniform.
“She had a lot of hands on her,” McCullough said. “Bless her heart. She did exactly what we asked her to do.”
Sachse’s defense was just as good. Duncanville was successful on its dribble-drive kickouts on a few occasions, but overall, the Lady Mustangs kept a Lady Pantherette offense that finished with 82 points in their bi-district win over Bryan to just 39.
Sachse led 28-27 after a Thompson jumper with 5:23 to go in the third quarter, but trouble began to brew for the Lady Mustangs later in the second half.
Duncanville forced Sachse into three straight turnovers to begin the fourth quarter, with the third one – a Holmen steal and subsequent layup for a 37-30 Lady Pantherette lead – proving to be the costliest one.
But Sachse remained a determined team.
Duncanville nearly made it a four-point game with less than a minute to go in regulation, but an errant pass was mishandled along the baseline by sophomore Aja Smith. Moments later, Sachse tied the score at 38 on an Anderson layup.
But Sachse’s comeback attempt came up one point short.
Sachse finished the season as undefeated district champions and posted a single season record 30 wins.
“I’m super proud of the team and their fight,” McCullough said.
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