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Girls basketball: Mount up: Guards’ early sharp-shooting sets stage for win
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
FLOWER MOUND — A hot-shooting first quarter gave Flower Mound’s girls basketball team the early advantage Tuesday and the Lady Jaguars never looked back, blowing past Coppell in the first half en route to a 50-39 victory.
Led by a trio of 3-pointers from Kayla Mount, Flower Mound shot 71 percent from the field and led, 24-12, after one period.
The Lady Jaguars were stout on the defensive end as well, holding the Cowgirls to under 30 percent shooting in the quarter.
The Lady Jaguars also doubled up Coppell on the glass, including 16 offensive rebounds.
“If we can rebound, we can run,” Nelson added. “Against Lewisville (Jan. 4), we didn’t rebound. But tonight we did a much better job on the boards.”
Mount matched Jessie Larson with nine points, while Ashley Deary had six points and seven assists, and Lauren Cox recorded a team-high 13 points.
Cox provided a challenge for Coppell on the defensive end as well and displayed the ability to create the break on her own, going coast-to-coast for layups on multiple occasions.
“[Cox] adds a new dimension as she gets more confident and gets older,” Nelson said. ”She made one pass to Ashley, who one-stepped it and put it in; that’s a heck of pass. That’s stuff you can’t teach and she is a special player.”
Coppell was paced by a game-high 14 points from Jaidyn Phillips, while Sydney Overman posted nine and Kalah Jiggets scored six.
“I thought Sydney did a good job shooting from outside and Jaidyn delivered underneath the basket,” said Amy Neff, Coppell head coach. “And Elena (Grijalva) picked up a lot of rebounds for us and is getting a little more offensive minded where she is able to finish on her touches. She’s still just a little bit green but she is finishing more.”
After falling behind at halftime, 37-17, Coppell founds its bearings in the second half, including outscoring Flower Mound in the third and fourth quarters by a combined margin of 22-13.
“We were hoping the girls could control the turnovers and compete with this Flower Mound team that had an outstanding preseason record,” Neff said. “In the first quarter, Flower Mound shot 71 percent, so that is hard to defend. I felt like after the first quarter we did a much better job defensively. And in the second half, in particular, we relaxed and did a much better job of executing on both offense and defense. We just dug a hole in the first quarter we could not overcome.”
Neff also credited Coppell’s ability to defend the perimeter more effectively in the second half.
Still, Flower Mound had enough balance and offensive firepower to maintain a safe distance throughout.
“That’s hard when you have the presence of Lauren inside and you double down on her and you have Kayla hitting threes on the outside,” Nelson said. “I also thought Jessie shot the ball well tonight and that makes it easier to play inside-out when you can do that.”
Coppell seeks its first win in district at 6 p.m. Friday when it hosts Marcus. Flower Mound goes for a 3-0 start at 6 p.m. Friday at Hebron.
“It was a good team win tonight,” Nelson said. “People got in and people scored. It’s a good feeling when your hard work pays off like that.”
After just two games, Flower Mound is already in a tie for first in district.
“We take it one game at a time,” Nelson said. “Of course our goal is playoffs, but they have a bigger picture they’re fighting for. It’s going to be tough to pull off, but I think one game at a time we might get there.”
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