Feb 20th, 2020 at 01:42 AM
2019-2020 Varsity
For the first time in five years, the Lady Dragons are Bi-District Champions after a stirring, heart pounding 50-45 win over Flower Mound in Colleyville on Monday night. The victory came exactly five years to the day since Carroll’s last UIL Girls Basketball playoff victory on February 17, 2015.
The Lady Dragons advance to an Area round matchup with the DeSoto Lady Eagles at Mansfield Legacy High School at 7 p.m. Friday. DeSoto is 31-2 and ranked #2 in the state after a 97-18 1st round win over Richardson Pearce.
Carroll improved to 25-10 on the season, winning its 6th straight game on the strength of 47% shooting and a stifling interior defense that limited Flower Mound’s top two scorers to 11 points on only 8 field goal attempts with 4 turnovers.
Carroll Junior Jordyn Sowell led the inspired defensive effort, drawing 3 critical charging fouls on Flower Mound players and grabbing 4 rebounds. Like Sowell, Junior Kaelyn Riley came up big against the Lady Jag post players with 6 rebounds, 3 deflections and a steal. Sophomore Kylie Swanson also logged key minutes as a post defender.
Sowell (8 points) and Riley (7 points) outscored the Flower Mound posts, 15-11, combining to shoot 70% from the field, making 7 of 10 field goal attempts. Carroll also won the rebounding battle, 23-17.
Senior Jillian Sowell, who has now scored over 1500 points in her Carroll career, led all scorers with 11 points and dished out 5 assists, shooting a perfect 6 of 6 from the free throw line in the crucial closing minutes of the game. A West Texas A&M signee, she has now made 17 straight free throws during Carroll’s 6-game win streak, 24 of her last 26 (92%), and 52 of 60 (87%) since Christmas.
The Lady Dragons got balanced scoring from their guards. Freshman Camryn Tade contributed 8 points, including a key buzzer beating putback to give Carroll a 27-20 halftime lead. Five quick points to start the 3rd quarter, including a Jillian Sowell 3-pointer, gave the Lady Dragons their biggest lead of the game, 32-20.
Senior Allyson Medici tallied 5 key points, including a 3-ball from the right wing, to help Carroll take a 13-11 lead after one quarter.
Junior Point Guard Brittney Flexer was a steady hand throughout the game, scoring 5 points, including a high arcing corner 3 that nearly brought rain not once, but twice, as it bounced high off the rim before settling back between the twine.
Junior sharpshooter Kelsey Boyette heated up quickly off the bench to provide instant offense with two long distance bombs for 6 points. She also grabbed two critical rebounds on the defensive end.
Carroll’s team defense is ranked 2nd in North Texas among Class 6A schools, giving up less than 38 points per game. The Lady Dragons are now 23-1 when they allow 45 or fewer points in a game.
The next opponent, DeSoto, champions of District 7-6A, won the Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth in December, beating Plano, 56-51, in the championship game. Carroll won the Cowtown Classic Consolation Championship after falling to Plano, 42-32, in a first round game in Fort Worth.
At that time, DeSoto was USA Today’s #1 ranked team in the nation. The Lady Eagles lost 6-4 Sophomore Sa’Myah Smith to an ACL injury in a 67-48 loss to #1 ranked Duncanville in the championship game of the Sandra Meadows Classic. Since then, the 2019 state finalists have won 13 games in a row.
Lady Dragon Notes: In memory of Coach Robyn McCoart’s father, Ron Anders, who passed away three weeks ago, all of the Lady Dragon players have painted their fingernails red, Mr. Anders’ favorite color...a face in the crowd at the bi-district win, seated with Coach McCoart’s mother Susan Anders, was Martha Durham, whose late husband Don Durham coached the Lady Dragons to a state championship in 1975. For whom Don T. Durham Intermediate School is named, Durham became Carroll Principal in 1965. He also coached the Lady Dragons Basketball team, winning 10 district championships and a state title in his last 11 years at the helm. Durham passed away in an automobile accident at age 44 in 1979.