LONGVIEW — Friday night saw the Winnsboro Lady Raiders basketball team run away with a commanding victory in the 3A area round of the playoffs with a 96-41 win over the Waskom Lady Wildcats.
The Lady Raiders advance to the next round with an overall record of 30-5 while Waskom’s season comes to an end with a final record of 21-7. Winnsboro is slated to meet Mineola in the regional quarterfinals next week.
Winnsboro had five players score in double digits, led by Jayden Cox with 15. Faith Acker was next in line with 14 and Reese Lindley scored 13. Halle Deaton and Jewelisa Duffer each scored 11 points.
Tiea Chatman was Waskom’s leading scorer with 18 points. Ma’Kayla Jeter tossed in 11.
Shanda Davis found Acker for the assist for the first points of the game. Chatman threw up a tear drop on the other end to tie the game up at 2-2. Cox went 2-for-2 from the line to put the Lady Raiders back on top. She then came up with a steal and took it back for two on a layup. Acker dropped in a pair of buckets to give Winnsboro a 10-2 lead.
Davis drained a three to make it a double-digit lead for the first time of the night. After another bucket from Cox was followed by a three from Deaton. Waskom called timeout, trailing 18-2 with 1:51 left in the first quarter. Jeter dribbled around the back on her way to the basket on a layup but Davis drained a shot from downtown to spread Winnsboro’s lead to 21-4.
Halle Darst made the final point of the first quarter from the free throw line, making the score 22-4 at the end of one.
The Lady Raiders continued their dominance in the second quarter, building their lead to more than 20 points. An and-one from Faith Sechrist made the score 31-6. Chatman tossed in a field goal and a pair of free throws before Acker went 2-for-2 from the line for her ninth and 10th points of the game. The Lady Raiders knocked back-to-back threes, including a four-point play from Lindley.
Duffer drained another three before Winnsboro came up with a steal on the full-court press. That led to an easy bucket by Kaitlyn McAdoo. Lindley drained a three and was sent to the line where she completed her second four-point play of the night. The final points of the first half came on an and-one at the buzzer by McAdoo, making the halftime score 59-18.
Winnsboro scored the first nine points of the second half. Thomas ended that streak with a free throw but the Lady Raiders continued to pour it on. Chatman drained a three but it was followed by a three on the other end. Moments later, Chatman drained a three for the final points of the third quarter, making the score 79-28 after three.
Jeter drained a three to start the fourth quarter but the Lady Raiders. Chatman drained a three moments later but the Lady Wildcats still trailed 86-38. Jeter came up with an old-fashioned three-play but the game ended in a three from Duffer to make the final score 96-41.
