The Plainview Lady Hornets escaped the Summerfield Lady Rebels on a shot by Abigail Pippen with seven seconds remaining to gain the 59-57 in the semifinals at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles. Plainview put on the air attacks as they bombed eight 3-pointers. Five of the threes came from MacKenzie Willis. The Rebels overcame an eight-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter and a cold shooting Plainview team survived the surge for the win.
MacKenzie Willis led the Lady Hornets with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Kinsley Ashworth netted 14 points and 9 rebounds. Abigail Pippen bucketed 13 points with 6 rebounds.
Yasmine Robinson topped Summerfield with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Alyshia McDaniels added 14 points. Malaysia Tate scored a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Alaysia Meadors contributed 10 points. Ajai Meadors banged the boards and passed the rock for 5 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.
Plainview started strong with the attack from beyond the arc as Pippen bombed two for her eight points. Just the attack from the air, Tate drove the Rebels through the lane as she had a strong 8 point quarter. Summerfield took a 7-0 run midway through the first quarter to take an early 16-10 lead. Pippen answered with a three to end the run for the Lady Rebels. Summerfield held the lead until the last second with when Willis buried a buzzer-beater three to take the 23-22 lead after the first quarter.
The two teams stay tight for the remainder of the half. The two got no further than two points from each other until the second buzzer-beater of the game was made by Ashworth on a jump shot. Plainview took a 38-34 lead into halftime.
The Hornets stung strong from the outside. Willis bombed three consecutive 3-pointer for her nine points in the quarter while Ashworth took care of the inside with six points. Meadors scored a quick basket and then the Lady Rebels went cold for the next three minutes. Planview lead had gotten as large as nine points against Summerfield. The Rebels escaped the third quarter down only eight points. Plainview was up 53-45 heading into the final quarter.
With a little under seven minutes left in the game, Plainview had attempted 26 3-pointers to Summerfields one 3-pointer. You live by the three, you can die by the three. Plainview went cold in the fourth quarter shooting 1 for 15 from the field. The eight-point lead vanished as Summerfield went on the rise. Robinson shot with a little under four minutes remaining put the lead in the past. Tate’s steal and score gave the Lady Rebels back the lead at 57-55. Summerfield had gone on a 6-0 run. Clutch free-throws by Jordan Thompson and Pippen tied the game at 57 with 1:14 remaining. With 31 seconds remaining, the Hornets decided to take a gamble of either going into overtime or find a perfect shot. Passing in the wheel for 24 seconds, the Willis found Pippen open on a drive to the lane for the leading basket at 59-57. Summerfield got one more chance. The Rebels took the ball out only to have a travel called on them with 2.9 seconds remaining. Plainview inbounded the ball to tip the ball out of bounds with 2 seconds remaining giving the Rebels one more chance. A long pass from Meadors was tipped at midcourt by Plainview out of bounds. No time had moved from the clock. An inbound a half-court resulted in a steal by the Hornets to end the season for Summerfield.
The Lady Rebels end their season taking the No. 1 seed in the tournament and an impressive 16-5 record. This year makes five out of the last six years that Summerfield has reached LHSAA Class C semifinals. Believe me, they will be there again.
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