MIDLOTHIAN — Back in the 2017-18 season, the Red Oak girls hit rock bottom, finishing last in their district.
On Friday, the team celebrated winning its fourth consecutive district championship.
“My first year [at Red Oak] we won one game in district. And then after that we got some freshmen to come in and it really turned the program around,” Red Oak coach Darren Eubanks said.
One of those freshmen was all-state point guard Breanna Davis. Davis, now a North Texas signee, has finished first in district all four years in high school and helped Red Oak wrap up its latest district title by scoring 36 points and making six 3-pointers in Friday’s 74-48 rout of second-place Midlothian.
Davis entered the week ranked third in the Dallas area in scoring (24.0 points per game), was tied for fourth in assists (4.6 per game) and was tied for sixth in 3-pointers made (2.7 per game). The senior scored 20 points in the first half as Red Oak (22-8, 10-0 District 14-5A) took a 35-21 lead into halftime.
Red Oak also got a big boost from its full-court press and man-to-man defense, which forced 26 turnovers in the game. Midlothian (17-11, 7-2) did a lot of its scoring from the free throw line, going 21 for 28.
Boys
Tre Johnson, Lake Highlands: The sophomore guard was 6 for 7 from 3-point range, 12 for 18 from the field and scored 34 points as Lake Highlands (26-3, 8-1 District 7-6A) beat Jesuit 75-62.
Chandler Burnett, South Grand Prairie: Made five 3-pointers and scored 23 points as the state’s 23rd-ranked 6A team beat No. 15 Arlington Martin 70-53 to grab sole possession of first place in District 8-6A. Anthony Solomon and Ringo Deng combined for 28 points and 10 rebounds for SGP (20-8, 7-1).
Caden Marshall, Rockwall: The star wide receiver from the football team scored 31 points while playing three quarters in a 98-40 rout of Skyline.
Cason Wallace, Richardson: The McDonald’s All-American, a Kentucky signee, scored 28 points as the state’s top-ranked 6A team beat Irving 79-36.
Finley Bizjack, Trophy Club Byron Nelson: Scored 27 points in a 60-44 win over Keller Fossil Ridge. Bizjack began the week leading the Dallas area in scoring, averaging 24.7 points.
Xavier Williams, Plano: Scored 28 points as the state’s 10th-ranked 6A team improved to 27-0 with a 63-58 win over Lewisville. Plano trailed by five after the first quarter and led by just two going into the fourth quarter.
Karson Templin, Lovejoy: Had 25 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks as the state’s 18th-ranked 5A team beat Sherman 70-44 and improved to 27-2 overall and to 9-0 in District 10-5A.
Dean Balo, Richardson Pearce: Scored 28 points in a 62-49 win against Richardson Berkner.
Nehemiah Dunn, South Oak Cliff: Scored 26 points in an 89-44 win over Sunset.
Girls
Brinley Andrews, Sunnyvale: She scored 35 points, going 7 for 7 from 2-point range and 7 for 13 from 3-point range as the state’s ninth-ranked 4A team beat Quinlan Ford 82-30. Takoya Stallings added 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Kylie Marshall, Mansfield Lake Ridge: The four-star junior guard, ranked by ESPN’s HoopGurlz as the 29th-best player in the nation in the Class of 2023, scored 30 points in a 65-35 victory against Waxahachie.
Jules LaMendola, Coppell: She scored 25 points as the state’s fourth-ranked 6A team beat Hebron 53-39. Coppell (32-1, 10-1) remained one game behind District 6-6A leader Plano East, which beat area-ranked Flower Mound 62-35.
Lexie Purcell, Rockwall: Made five 3-pointers and scored 25 points in a 61-50 win vs. Skyline.
Alisa Williams, Denton Braswell: The LSU signee had 20 points and eight rebounds as Braswell, ranked No. 12 in the state in 6A, beat McKinney 63-33. Kennedy Evans added 18 points and made six 3-pointers. Braswell (29-2, 10-0) clinched the District 5-6A title when second-place Allen lost 48-45 to Denton Guyer on Friday.
Emma Kay Martin, Argyle Liberty Christian: Scored 26 points in Liberty Christian’s 55-42 victory over Fort Worth Nolan.
Caroline Lyles, Argyle: Scored 19 points as the state’s top-ranked 4A team beat Krum 55-44. Argyle improved to 30-0 despite being outscored 11-0 in the second quarter. It responded with a 23-9 run in the third quarter.
Ciara Harris and Kaelyn Hamilton, McKinney North: Harris scored 23 points and Hamilton added 22 as the state’s second-ranked 5A team beat Denison 73-47.
Charravia Smith, Terrell: Scored 30 points as Terrell beat Nevada Community 78-31.
Desiree Wooten, Mansfield Timberview: Had a double-double with 13 points and 11 assists as the state’s 12th-ranked 5A team beat Burleson 68-25.
Bishop Lynch is close to huge milestone
The Bishop Lynch girls are the defending TAPPS 6A state champions and are having another banner season, ranked No. 2 in the state among large private schools and sporting a 25-6 record. They improved to 6-0 in district play Friday by beating Ursuline 59-36 as UT-San Antonio signee Madison Cockrell scored 17 points and Natalie Cardenas added 14 points.
The girls basketball program has won 30 state championships and could be the team that gives Bishop Lynch a huge milestone. The next state championship will be the 100th state title in school history.
The only question is whether another Bishop Lynch sport will beat the girls basketball team to the milestone. The state swim meet is Feb. 9 and the state wrestling tournament is Feb. 12. Both are before the state basketball tournament.
55-2
Lead at halftime for the South Grand Prairie girls as the state’s seventh-ranked 6A team beat Arlington Martin 83-18. SGP (26-4, 9-0), which has clinched the District 8-6A title, got a combined 28 points from Victoria Dixon and Adhel Tac.
52
Points scored in the second half by the Rowlett girls in a 97-23 win over North Garland.
9
Three-pointers made by the Mansfield Timberview boys as the state’s fourth-ranked 5A team beat Burleson 85-65.
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