TROPHY CLUB - At a time when teams are required to play their best, the Guyer Lady Wildcats suffered a scoring drought that could only rival the lack of rain in Texas.
The layups in the beginning didn't fall. The 3-pointers didn't drop. Because of that, Guyer missed all 22 of its first-half field goals and its first seven shots in the second half.
By the time the Lady Wildcats finally scored its first field goal Monday night, Flower Mound Marcus had all but sealed a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
The Lady Marauders took advantage of Guyer's shooting woes in a 39-27 victory in the bi-district round of the Class 5A girls state playoffs at Trophy Club Byron Nelson High School. Marcus (24-12) advances to face the winner of Duncanville and Hurst L.D. Bell.
Guyer head coach Harold Colson said the Lady Wildcats had experienced scoreless stretches earlier in the season, but with the added pressure of the playoffs, Guyer's inability to score was magnified.
"We know how to fight through those stretches," Colson said. "It's just that tonight, like I knew eventually it would, those stretches in games kills us, and killed us tonight."
Marcus' Morgan Easley led all scorers with 14 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. Renee Washington and Jasmine Leday led the Lady Wildcats (25-9) with eight points each.
Guyer did not hit its first basket until Quamese Moss hit a jumper with 1:19 left in the third quarter.
Marcus' offense wasn't exactly pouring in points up to that point - it led only 14-4 at halftime - but the Lady Marauders' defense had done plenty to ensure the victory.
"I think you never walk into a game expecting that in a playoff game," Marcus head coach Fred Jones said of Guyer's poor shooting. "We didn't expect it. But I tell you, we really came out and wanted to make a statement with our defense."
Leday struggled throughout and was one foul away from a disqualification for much of the night. Leday was called for an offensive foul with 4:04 left in the first half when she ran over a Marcus defender on the baseline. Leday jumped in frustration and spread her arms out wide in protest and was called for a technical foul as well, giving the senior four personal fouls.
When Leday checked into the game with four fouls and 1:45 remaining in the half, Jones asked the official scorer how many fouls she had and quickly called a 30-second timeout to get his team to attack Leday and make her draw a fifth foul. Leday played almost the entire second half without incurring another foul call.
"They came in and had our number," Colson said. "They stopped our best player, Jasmine, from driving and doing what she wanted to do. They were aggressive with us right from the start, which kind of threw us off."
As the time remaining in its season dwindled, Guyer's sense of urgency increased along with its scoring. Guyer forced turnovers late in the fourth and cut the deficit from 16 points to 11 with 1:35 remaining. Marcus refused to let the Lady Wildcats get any closer, closing the game with four straight points.
Guyer reached the playoffs for only the third time in school history, with its only win coming in the bi-district round in 2007. Colson said he was pleased with the progress his six seniors had made in their time at Guyer.
"This group of seniors, from where they started to now, it's been tremendous," Colson said. "It's been tremendous for Guyer High School, and they represented their school well."
BEN BABY can be reached 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bbaby@dentonrc.com .
FLOWER MOUND MARCUS 39, GUYER 27
Guyer
2
2
4
19 - 27
Marcus
6
8
7
18 - 39
Guyer (25-9) - Renee Washington 8, Jasmine Leday 8, Caroline Leach 3, Quamese Moss 3, Kourtney Kuhl 3, Sylvia Nwiba 2.
Marcus (24-12) - Morgan Easley 14, Vanessa Jones 8, Sierra Bone 6, Ashley James 6, Shannon Malone 5.
