LAKE CHARLES
For the fourth straight season, Plainview’s season ends with a loss at the Top 28.
No. 4 seed Plainview jumped out early on No. 1 seed and senior-laden Hackberry, and held a 16-12 lead as the first quarter came to a close. A second quarter filled with struggles would unfortunately derail Plainview’s chances as the Lady Hornets would go on to suffer a 50-43 loss at Burton Coliseum Wednesday afternoon.
Plainview (25-10) started off strong as Kelli Crager found her stroke for the Lady Hornets. The 5-foot-6 junior guard scored 13 points in the opening quarter as Plainview produced an 11-2 run.
Hackberry (31-4) responded in the second quarter as senior forward Skylar Jinks hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Those long-range shots helped fuel an 11-0 run as Hackberry outscored Plainview 16-5 in the second quarter. At the break, Hackberry held a 28-21 lead.
Plainview was more consistent in the second half as the Lady Hornets scored 22 points but the team was never able to overcome that second quarter.
Crager paced Plainview with 14 points while Shy Thompson added 11 points and six rebounds in the losing effort. Jinks led Hackberry with 19 points, while Destiny Simon chipped in 12 points.
Since defeating Saline 58-56 in the Class C finals in 2010, the Lady Hornets have fell short at the Top 28. Plainview lost to Starks 75-38 in the 2011 finals and followed that with a 44-39 loss to Pelican in the 2012 semifinals. Last season, Plainview was bested by Dubach 65-61 in the state semifinals.
Prior to Wednesday’s loss, Plainview had won seven in a row and only had suffered one loss to a Class C opponent. That was a 46-35 loss against Elizabeth which started District 5-C play.
Summerfield 43, Elizabeth 41
The Top 28 ended in disappointment for the Lady Bulldogs as well.
In the other Class C semifinal, a fourth-quarter rally wasn’t enough as No. 2 seed Elizabeth fell to No. 3 seed Summerfield, 43-41.
At the end of the first quarter, Summerfield (22-12) used a 7-0 run to build a 16-11 lead. That opening quarter would be the last time Summerfield would trail in the game as they held on to advance to Friday’s title game against Hackberry.
Elizabeth (24-11) mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 41-38 with a little more than a minute to play. That was as close as the Lady Bulldogs came though as the team’s next few possession came up empty.
Elizabeth was led by Erin Maddox’s game-high 17 points. Summerfield was led by Comeshia Levingston who scored 14 points.
The Lady Bulldogs were making their first appearance at the Top 28 since losing to Saline in the 2009 semifinals. Elizabeth is now 0-3 all time at the Top 28.
