RIGHT DOWN TO THE WIRE

After earning first Class 3A playoff berth since 2013 with win-and-in tiebreaker, Clifton Lady Cubs drop Bi-District playoff in fourth to 17th-ranked Malakoff Lady Tigers

While it might not have resulted in the playoff victory they desired, the Clifton Lady Cubs walked off the court knowing they had played their best games when they counted the most to wrap up the 2023-24 Texas high school girls basketball season last week.

After struggling down the stretch to fall into a fourth place tie with the Keene Lady Chargers for the final District 17-3A playoff berth, the Lady Cubs earned their first trip to the Class 3A state playoffs since 2013 with a dramatic 43-42 tiebreaker victory Feb. 10 as sophomore Avary Woosley led Clifton with 12 points while senior Laylah Gaona tossed in 10.

Going into the win-and-in tiebreaker, the Lady Cubs had lost four of their last five games, including a disappointing 54-30 road loss to Maypearl in the regular season finale Feb. 6.

“The team did a great job of responding after the tough loss in Maypearl on Tuesday, and preparing for the play-in game versus Keene,” Clifton girls basketball first-year head coach Mario Villalpando said. We had a tough second round of district, but the team played one of their best basketball games when they needed to. They did not let the pressure of a must win game affect the way they played.”

In the tiebreaker against Keene, senior Reagan Thomas led the Lady Cubs with eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, while senior Kate Humphreys tossed in nine points and pulled down five rebounds.

“Winning a game like that is a great way to head into the playoffs for the first time since 2013,” Villalpando said. “It is going to be a quick turnaround for the Bi-District matchup versus Malakoff. We have played some tough teams both in non-district and district that have prepared the team for this matchup.”

Riding their season-saving momentum, the Lady Cubs (18-15) gave the 17th-ranked Malakoff Lady Tigers (31-3) all they could handle in the Class 3A Bi-District playoff game Feb. 12 in Hubbard. Although the Lady Cubs took a 47-46 lead with 5:52 left in the game, the Lady Tigers (31-3) escaped with a hard-fought 53-50 victory over Clifton.

In the loss to Malakoff, senior Meagan Henderson led the Lady Cubs with 17 points and four rebounds, followed by Thomas with eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

“I can say that the last two games of the season were two of the most complete games that we played of the season,” Villalpando said. “There are no easy matchups when you get into the playoffs, and I was proud of how the team accepted the challenge of facing one of the top ranked teams. This team is a resilient group. They battled back from being down double digits at halftime to taking a two point lead late in the fourth quarter.

“Even with this being my first year as the head coach here, I have been able to watch all these girls play basketball ever since they started in middle school. I have witnessed all of the hard work that they have put in to reach the goal of reaching the playoffs. There were plenty of times this season, and previous seasons where it would have been easy for these girls to give up, but they were all determined and dedicated to accomplishing this goal.

“So for them to be able to accomplish that goal and experience what it was like to be a playoff team was special. I would like to thank the community for their support the entire season, and most importantly on Monday night. The playoff environment was something that our girls had never experienced and the crowd was a true playoff crowd that the team deserved.”