Deer Park coach Theresa White told her team to be calm in the midst of the storm.
It’s easier said than done when trailing by 15 points to rival La Porte, the only team that had defeated White’s team in District 22-5A play.
But the tides eventually turned in Deer Park’s favor and the Lady Deer pulled out a 50-49 victory Tuesday night at Deer Park High School, giving Deer Park (13-11, 11-1) a seven-game winning streak.
“The team that’s patient and can get back on track and do what they’re capable of doing will get the win, so we just went back to playing Deer Park basketball,” White said. “We started taking care of the ball and we love to trap, so that’s what we went back to doing.”
La Porte (18-11, 9-3) was the last team to defeat Deer Park back in January and looked well on its way to doing so again behind the strong play from senior forward Heather Toebeck who recorded four blocks in the first period. Toebeck finished shy of a triple-double with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots.
The Lady Bulldogs took a four-point lead into halftime and got after Deer Park early, starting the third quarter with an 11-0 run, forcing a timeout with 4:11 left in the period.
That’s when the Lady Deer decided it was time to play their brand of ball, vehemently trapping La Porte any where it went on the court. Deer Park scored the last 11 points of the third and was back in the game.
“No matter what level of basketball it is, eventually the pressure is going to get to you,” White said. “I told our girls that if we stay calm and keep the pressure on them, they’re going to make mistakes and that’s what we’ve been living and dying on.”
Deer Park took its first lead of the second half when freshman guard Tabitha Hawthorne intercepted a La Porte pass and went the other way for a layup, putting the Lady Deer in front 43-42 with just under 1:30 to play.
Deer Park built a 4-point lead with just under 1:30 to play when La Porte senior guard Christina Gallegos got fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three shots. Gallegos finished with a team-high of 14 points.
La Porte was up against the clock and forced to foul. Senior guard Katie Whitaker would heed her coach’s words earlier, calmly making 4-for-4 from the free throw line to secure the game for the Lady Deer.
“Every day in practice we shoot just like that to win the game, so I think that has prepared us the most,” said Whitaker who finished with 18 points.
“The only way we could have won this game tonight is if we worked together, and that’s what we did.”
Originally posted at : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6245478.html
1 comment:
Go Deer!
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