CLIFTON – With a group of girls playing in their final high school basketball game at home, the Clifton girls basketball team came up short against playoff-bound Maypearl as the Lady Panthers clawed their way to a 56-37 win last Tuesday night in the Clifton High School gymnasium.
Maypearl jumped out to a comfortable 18-9 first quarter lead, then put the Lady Cubs away with a dominating third period by outscoring Clifton, 18-6.
“The girls have shown growth throughout this season,” Clifton girls basketball head coach Whitney Holdbrook said. “That is no different here at the end of the season. They came into practice focused to improve and develop a game plan for our last opponent. This has a hard working group that gives it their best every day.”
Playing with nothing but pride on the line, Clifton (5-9 in district, 14-19 overall) rose to the occasion to dominate Rio Vista, 59-30, snapping a four-game road losing streak Feb. 7. The Lady Cubs jumped out to a commanding 17-5 first quarter lead over the Lady Eagles (2-12, 3-17), then poured in 17 more points in the third quarter to put the game away.
Other district finale matchups last Tuesday included fourth place Whitney edged 19th-ranked district champion Grandview, 50-49, playoff-bound West crushed Rio Vista, 77-42, and Keene (5-9, 10-13) rolled over Waco Harmony School of Innovation (0-14, 1-15).
In Class 3A Bi-District playoff games Monday night, Grandview (12-2, 29-5) knocked off Kemp, 44-27, West (11-3, 27-7) slipped past Corsicana Mildred, 56-51, Maypearl (11-3, 25-7) rolled over Scurry-Rosser, 41-33, and Whitney (10-4, 27-8) lost to Malakoff, 58-51.
With three District 17-3A teams advancing to the Area Playoffs, Maypearl takes on Buffalo at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Grandview faces Little River-Academy Friday, and West plays Franklin (19-4) at 7 p.m. Friday at Riesel.
Photos by DAVID HARDING
