Here are a number of Dallas-area basketball storylines to follow this week:
Girls
Race for 11-6A title: With two weeks left in the regular season, one team stands between the nationally ranked DeSoto girls and a District 11-6A championship. That’s Cedar Hill, ranked No. 5 in the state.
DeSoto (24-2, 10-0), ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation, has a half-game lead over Cedar Hill (23-8, 10-1) in the district standings with four games left. The two teams face each other at 6 p.m. Friday at Cedar Hill.
DeSoto, the defending 6A state champion, can clinch the 11-6A title with wins Tuesday (vs. Waco) and Friday. Of the four teams that DeSoto still has to play, it beat them by a combined score of 247-141 in the first round of district play, including a 50-37 victory over Cedar Hill on Jan. 11.
In the first meeting with Cedar Hill, DeSoto got a combined 36 points from Texas signee Amina Muhammad, LSU signee Sa’Myah Smith and SMU signee Jiya Perry to offset a 15-point game from Cedar Hill’s Jadyn Atchison. DeSoto won that game at the free throw line, going 17 for 20.
Even if it beats DeSoto, Cedar Hill would not be guaranteed a share of the district title. Cedar Hill still has to play 11-time state champion Duncanville, ranked No. 17 in the nation by ESPN, on Feb. 8. Cedar Hill beat Duncanville 81-72 in overtime on Jan. 14 as Nadiyah Cooper and Atchison combined for 43 points.
Big chance for Coppell: The Coppell girls tied for fifth place in District 6-6A last season, finishing four games out of a playoff spot. A year later, Coppell has a chance to win the district title.
With three games left, Coppell is one game behind district leader Plano East. Those two teams play at 7 p.m. Friday at Coppell.
Plano East (29-3, 11-0) won their first district matchup 42-37 on Jan. 11 as Plano East’s Adabugwu Anamekwe broke a 37-37 tie by making a pair of free throws late in the fourth quarter. That is the only loss on the season for Coppell (32-1, 10-1).
Plano East will have to find a way to slow down Coppell’s Jules LaMendola and India Howard, who have combined to average 41.3 points per game over the last four games. Howard recently surpassed 1,000 points for her career.
Big week in 9-5A: It’s a crucial week for Frisco Liberty, ranked No. 4 in the state in 5A.
Liberty is tied with third-ranked Frisco Memorial for first place in District 9-5A with three games left. Liberty has to play at 17th-ranked Frisco Lone Star at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
Lone Star is two games out of first, and it features a player who was unstoppable last week. Stephen F. Austin signee Kyla Deck averaged 27.0 points over the last two games and is averaging 18.4 points for the season for a 20-8 team.
Liberty (28-5, 14-1) won its first matchup with Lone Star 41-34 after opening the game on a 21-8 run. Rice signee Jazzy Owens-Barnett and Kamen Wong combined for 24 points for Liberty.
Frisco Memorial, meanwhile, gets games against Frisco Lebanon Trail and Frisco. Those two teams are a combined 11-19 in district play.
— Greg Riddle
Boys
Chance for Mansfield Timberview to clinch District 8-5A title: District 8-5A has proven to be one of the Dallas area’s strongest divisions this season, with three teams in The Dallas Morning News’ 5A rankings.
Mansfield Timberview (26-3, 9-0 District 8-5A) can inch closer to winning that district title for the third time in the last four seasons.
The top-ranked team in The News’ area 5A rankings, Timberview will play Mansfield Summit (22-5, 8-1 District 8-5A) at home on Tuesday. Timberview handed Summit, the sixth-ranked area 5A team, its lone district loss in early January. It’ll play Arlington Seguin (11-13, 5-4) on Friday.
Timberview would move to 11-0 in district play with two wins this week, and hold the tiebreaker over second-place Summit.
Greenhill can close the regular season on a 10-game win streak: After starting the season off with a 3-5 record, The Greenhill School has found its stride.
Led by Vanderbilt signees Noah Shelby (22.3 points per game) and Lee Dort (16.2 points, 11.7 rebounds) Greenhill has won its last nine games by an average of 30 points.
Ranked eighth in The News’ area 5A/others poll, Greenhill (21-8, 6-0 SPC) plays Casady (Okla.) on Friday. The SPC basketball championship will be played Feb. 11-13 at Trinity Valley and Fort Worth Country Day.
Keller, Trophy Club Byron Nelson set for District 4-6A showdown: The top two teams in District 4-6A — Keller and Trophy Club Byron Nelson — will play Friday at Byron Nelson.
For Keller (21-8, 8-0 District 4-6A), it’ll be a chance to extend its lead in the division. Sophomore Brooks Bahr leads the team in scoring (14.6 points per game) and rebounding (5.3 rebounds per game). He posted 39 points and 11 rebounds in Keller’s two wins last week.
For Byron Nelson (20-8, 6-2 District 4-6A), Friday’s game will be an opportunity to make a late push for the district title. Junior Finley Bizjack, a three-star recruit with offers from St. Louis, DePaul and Oral Roberts, leads Dallas-area 6A players in scoring at 24.7 points per game.
— Shawn McFarland
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Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
