Late free throws lift North Crowley girls past Fort Worth Boswell, 49-48
By Cody Thorn
FORT WORTH - With the game on the line, Kendal Robinson knocked down the shots.
The Fort Worth North Crowley junior hit two free throws with two seconds left to lift the Lady Panthers to a come-from-behind 49-48 win against Fort Worth Boswell on Saturday afternoon at Max G. Newcom Gymnasium.
The Lady Panthers once trailed by six points with 45.8 seconds left. Two free throws from senior Baylee Mitchell pulled North Crowley within one, 48-47, with 10.3 seconds left.
A charge on Boswell with 8.5 left gave the ball back to North Crowley (20-8, 10-1 in 3-6A play). A tie-up followed with 3.3 seconds left, but the possession arrow favored the visitors.
An inbound play happened and Robinson cut through the lane and got the pass. She then released a shot that missed, but Robinson drew the foul.
That sent Robinson to the line.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” she said. “I knew if I didn’t make them, it would be in my head but I’m glad I did. It gave us the win and it was a great win.”
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The key for North Crowley coach Lori Shead was doing what the team did early in the game to have success.
“It was one stop. One possession. One score,” Shead said. “We knew we had a couple of possessions we shot outside and we shouldn’t have.
"We stressed that we got to get to the rim. They have to stop us and we have to go back and do what we knew worked, and that is what we did.”
North Crowley swept the season series with the Lady Pioneers, starting with a 62-55 win on Jan. 6.
The Lady Panthers used a 12-2 run in the second quarter and took a 24-14 lead into the break. The Lady Pioneers (14-11, 9-3) rallied to cut the deficit to 37-30 going into the fourth.
That is when the hosts rallied and ultimately surged ahead.
Miraya Perkins scored inside with 5:10 to go and drew a foul and made the free throw. With 2:51 left, Tori Echols went to the line for a one-and-one and made both to tie the game at 39.
Then, Salena Carrasco hit two free throws with a one-and-one with 2:15 remaining to put the Lady Pioneers ahead by two.
North Crowley tied it temporarily on a basket by Kaliyah Moss, but a 3-pointer by Carrasco made it 44-41. Perkins, a Texas-Arlington signee, scored with 1:06 left to make it a five-point lead and her free throws with 45.8 ticks left made it 48-42.
But ultimately, the Lady Panthers rallied to win a seventh straight game.
“We executed as we should on defense and we let our offense and defense come to us; that is how we came back,” Robinson said. “We all came together and held each other up when we were down.
"I’m glad we did (rally to win). If we didn’t, we would’ve been defeated.”
Robinson finished with 21 points - the only Lady Panther in double figures. Amiya Hopkins, a 6-foot-1 senior center, had nine points.
Perkins, the daughter of former NBA player Sam Perkins, tallied a game-high 22 points. Carrasco added 15.
North Crowley looks to run its win streak to eight in a row with a home game Monday against Weatherford.
Boys
North Crowley 70, Fort Worth Boswell 49
The Panthers stayed perfect in district play with a dominating second half to roll to a victory in the second game of a doubleheader.
Boswell made the initial basket in the contest, but a 3-pointer by Kamoni Sieber gave the Panthers a lead they held until late in the second quarter.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Koreyan ‘KD’ Davis and Justin McCray opened the scoring in the second quarter for the Panthers (24-6, 10-0) to build an 18-8 lead.
The 10-point advantage dwindled quickly by Boswell, however.
Garrett Bosch had a three-point play and Judah Gordon followed with back-to-back buckets inside the paint. Caiden Punt, a 6-foot-7 senior who is headed to Division II Central Oklahoma, scored twice inside the paint as well and pulled the home team within one, 22-21, thanks to a 13-4 run.
Moments later, Bosch hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 24 with 2:08 to play in the opening half.
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Tobias Reese hit two free throws with 1:10 left to tie the game at 26 for the Pioneers. Kanye Bailey’s runner gave North Crowley the lead back and Davis hit another 3-pointer to make it 31-26 going into the break.
“Boswell does a great job if you give them anything at all, and they get it going,” North Crowley coach Tommy Brakel said. “We gave up that 9-0 run, but it would’ve been closer to 10 to 14 (point lead) in the first half.”
Boswell (16-14, 5-5) had no answer in the third quarter for the visitors.
Davis and Terry Allen got hot early and sparked a 20-2 run that put the game out of reach. The only basket for Boswell was by Punt, which made it 36-28.
A 15-0 run followed that made it a 23-point advantage for the Panthers.
The 20-point barrage saw Allen hit three 3-pointers and finish with 11 points in the third, while Davis added eight points.
“We shot the ball well,” said Brakel, who recorded his 700th win earlier this season. “We always defend and we all turn guys over and play well in transition.
"When we shoot the ball well from the perimeter, people have a hard time beating us.
Davis had a team-high and a game-high 27 points. Allen had 17, all in the second half, and featured five 3-pointers.
Reese had 13 to lead Boswell, while 6-foot-8 sophomore Carson Punt scored all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter.
The Panthers are in a stretch of four games in seven days with contests against Weatherford (Monday), L.D. Bell (Wednesday) and Chisholm Trail (Friday), with hopes of extending their 10-game win streak.
