HUNTSVILLE —
Even with a little bit more difficulty, the Lady Hornets weren’t going to be denied another outright district championship, especially not on their own floor.
Despite a first quarter filled with turnovers, the Huntsville girls turned up the heat and eventually wore down Kingwood Park on Friday night. Led by seniors Ceidra Coleman, Breanna Fuller and Dequayla Terry, the Lady Hornets beat the Lady Panthers 64-43 to clinch their second straight outright District 18-4A girls basketball title.
“This feels awesome; it really does. It feels great to be on a winning team for the last couple of years,” Fuller said. “I love it.”
Nursing a slim 26-21 edge heading into the third quarter, Huntsville got rolling as soon as the second half got under way.
Fuller started things off with three layups from the post and Coleman converted a layup on a fast break that capped a 10-2 run to begin the third quarter.
“In the second half, after we got talked to by our coach, we had to get it together. We had to get our head focused,” Fuller said.
“In the third quarter, we picked it up and we were able to run some plays and get our fast break going and set up a defense.”
Even when Kingwood Park answered with a few buckets to get to within single digits, the Lady Hornets (13-0 in district, 18-7 overall) didn’t budge.
The Huntsville girls started the fourth with another run, 12-3, that stretched the Lady Hornets’ lead to 18 points with a little less than five minutes to play.
Kingwood Park only managed eight more points from that point on.
Fuller finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Coleman scored 18, including four 3-pointers, and Terry poured in 14 from the post.
Once the final buzzer sounded, the celebration was on.
“This is just a tribute to the girls’ hard work. They came out and worked extremely hard and hard work pays off,” Huntsville head coach Jay Oliphant said.
“We came out tonight, didn’t play as well, and take the victory and the outright district title.”
The opening quarter was one that Huntsville would like to forget as it was littered with unforced turnovers and defensive breakdowns.
The Lady Hornets also missed easy layups and struggled with jumpers against Kingwood Park’s zone defense.
The Lady Hornets only managed six points in the first period, which was uncharacteristic.
“This was our toughest competition. First quarter was a little shaky and our scores were low,” Fuller said. “We got it together, of course, and got back in our game and we were at it. We got back to playing Hornet ball.”
Coleman provided the spark the Huntsville girls needed and was on fire from beyond 3-point arc. The shifty senior guard swished three 3-pointers in the first few minutes of the second quarter.
The Lady Hornets have just one more game left in the regular season, a road game at Willis on Tuesday, and then they can shift their focus toward the playoffs.
“Well, we want to take care of Willis first,” Oliphant said, “then we can start looking ahead to other things.”
Sports
Related Photos
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Huntsville girls basketball head coach Jay Oliphant triumphantly raises the net after cutting the final link Friday night at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym after disposing of Kingwood Park 64-43. The Lady Hornets clinched their second consecutive outright District 18-4A championship with Friday’s 21-point victory. Huntsville has one regular-season game remaining at Willis on Tuesday night. Then it’s on to the playoffs. D.J. Shafer
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Huntsville senior post Breanna Fuller, left, makes a play on a loose ball Friday night in the first half around Kingwood Park guard Jazmyn Johnson (22) at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym. Fuller scored a game-high 19 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds as the Huntsville girls won their last home game, beating the Lady Panthers 64-43 to lock up a second straight District 18-4A title. D.J. Shafer
Discussion
Outright champs, again
Lady Hornets pull away in second half, thump Kingwood Park 64-43 for second straight district title
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