WIN-AND-IN FINALE

Controlling their own playoff destiny, Clifton Lady Cubs look to earn District 17-3A playoff berth on the road in showdown at Maypearl

In control of their own postseason destiny, the Clifton Lady Cubs wrap up the 2023-24 Texas high school girls basketball regular season with a win-and-in showdown with the surging Maypearl Lady Panthers.

After snapping a two-game losing streak last Tuesday with a dominating 55-20 road victory over the arch rival Whitney Lady Wildcats, the Lady Cubs fell short of clinching a playoff berth in their 45-28 home loss to the co-district leading West Lady Trojans Friday night in the Clifton High School gymnasium.

While three teams have already clinched playoff berth in District 17-3A, postseason seeding remains completely up for grabs going into the final regular season slate of games. West (7-2 in district, 26-3 overall) and Grandview (7-2, 26-6) remained locked in a first-place tie, while Maypearl (6-3, 19-15) has clinched at least third place and continues to cling to a slim shot at the district title.

Clifton (4-5, 17-13) enters its showdown with Maypearl at 6 p.m. Tuesday in sole possession of fourth place, but the Keene Lady Chargers (3-6, 19-12) lurk just a game behind after salvaging a season split with the Lady Cubs. Even if Clifton loses to Maypearl, the Lady Chargers will have to pull off the upset on the road against West to force a tie for the district’s final playoff berth.

“At the start of the season, we knew this district would be evenly matched from the top to bottom,” Clifton girls basketball first-year head coach Mario Villalpando said. “So, for the final playoff spots to be determined on the last night of the season is not a surprise. The team has put themselves in a great position going into the final game to accomplish something that has not been accomplished here in over a decade.”

Led by senior Laylah Gaona with 11 points, the Lady Cubs put themselves in a position to make the playoffs for the second time in three seasons by dominating Whitney from start to finish. With 10 Lady Cubs scoring points, junior Delilah Martinez and sophomore Addison Martin tossed in seven points each, followed by senior Kate Humphreys with six, along with junior Kyndall Hunt and sophomore Avary Woosley with six apiece.

Senior Reagan Thomas and Woosley dished out a game-high five assists each, Humphreys led Clifton in the boards with nine rebounds, and Woosley came up with a game-high four steals.

“To stay in the playoff spot, we knew we would need to win on the road against Whitney,” Villalpando said. “For the team to go out and win the way they did on the road was great to see.”

But the momentum from the big win in Whitney proved to be not even to carry the Lady Cubs to the upset win over previously-state-ranked West. The Lady Trojans jumped out to a commanding 21-9 lead in the first quarter and controlled the game throughout the contest.

In the losing effort, Woosley led Clifton with 13 points, followed by Gaona with four points, two assists and four steals, while Humphreys topped the Lady Cubs with eight rebounds.

“Against West, they came out and hit some big shots early on to put us in a bit of a hole,” Villalpando said. “The team did a great job of battling back and competing after the slow start, but we weren’t able to dig ourselves out of the hole.”