LOCKED IN A LOGJAM

Clifton Lady Cubs fall to 12th-ranked West, close out first round of District 17-3A play with victory over Maypearl heading into challenging week at home

Heading into the second round of District 17-3A competition this week, the Clifton Lady Cubs find themselves right where they want to be making the turn down the home stretch of the 2023-24 Texas high school girls basketball regular season.

Controlling their own postseason destiny, the Lady Cubs (3-2 in district, 16-10 overall) finished the first round of district deadlocked in a three-way tie for second place with Grandview (3-2, 22-6) and Maypearl (3-2, 16-14), trailing the 12th-ranked and undefeated league leader West (5-0, 24-1). This week, Clifton will host Keene (1-4, 17-11) at 6 p.m. Tuesday before staying home for the visiting Grandview Lady Zebras at 6 p.m. Friday in the Clifton High School gymnasium.

Bouncing back from a disappointing 32-17 road loss to West last Tuesday, the Lady Cubs secured their spot in the second-place logjam by knocking off the Maypearl, 35-25, at home last Friday. The Lady Panthers came into the game riding high off their 54-49 upset of Grandview Tuesday.

“It was nice to get to finish up the first round of district at home this past Friday,” Clifton girls basketball head coach Mario Villalpando said. “The team did a great job all night defensively, being able to hold Maypearl to one of their lowest scores all season.

“Offensively, the team did a great job scoring some transition points, and was able to capitalize at the free throw line. With the win, the team finishes the first round of district play tied for second place.”

Led by sophomore Avary Woosley with 10 points and senior Laylah Gaona with nine, the Lady Cubs battled to a 20-16 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half. Senior Meagan Henderson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while tossing in five points, Gaona led Clifton with four steals, while Woosley collected six rebounds and two steals.

In what proved to be a defensive struggle against West, Woosley led the Lady Jackets with five points, followed by Henderson with four points and a team-high four rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Reagan Thomas tossed in three points and dished out two assists, and senior Kate Humphreys grabbed three rebounds and three steals.

“The game against West was a defensive battle,” Villalpando said. “The team has been playing some of our best defense since district started, and that continued against West. We were able to hold them to their lowest point total in district play so far. Unfortunately, we did not have one of our best nights offensively.”