Ellis County round-up: Girls’ hoops sees 3 state-ranked, big road upset ahead of playoffs

By Travis M. Smith | KBEC Sports

RED OAK — A matchup of two Ellis County and state-ranked 5A teams went down to the wire Tuesday in Red Oak.

No. 24 (17-4, 9-1) Midlothian skated by host No. 12 (19-5, 9-1) Red Oak, 33-32.

The Lady Hawks had won the previous matchup, 59-32, in Midlothian on Jan. 2.

Both teams advanced to the 4A Region II tournament in 2020.

The remaining five teams in District 14-5A all have losing records, both in-district and out.

Midlothian closes against Corsicana (Friday, Jan. 29 at home), Waco University (Tuesday, Feb. 2 away) and Cleburne (Friday, Feb. 2 at home). 

Red Oak is slated to face Joshua (Friday, Jan. 29 away) and Ennis (Tuesday, Feb. 2 at home). 

WAXAHACHIE

The Lady Indians are currently 7-13 overall and 4-6 in District 11-6A. They sit two-and-a-half games back of fourth-place (14-6, 6-5) Mansfield with four games to play. 

Waxahachie returns to action at 5:30 p.m. Friday against (10-8, 4-5) Mansfield Lake Ridge. 

They’ll then close the season against Cedar Hill (Saturday, Jan. 30 away), Duncanville (Wednesday, Feb. 3 away) and Mansfield (Saturday, Feb. 6 at home).

The Lady Indians share a district with TABC 6A No. 2 DeSoto and No. 3 Duncanville. 

Senior guard Mya Williams leads the team with an average of 19.3 points-per-game. She recently crossed the 1,800-point plateau for her high school career.

MIDLOTHIAN HERITAGE

The Midlothian Heritage Jaguars began the week as the leaders in District 11-4A and ranked No. 13 in the TABC 4A poll.

Heritage (17-4, 9-0 in 11-4A) had to postpone its home game last Friday against Venus due to the Lady Bulldogs having issues with safety and wellness protocols.

The Jaguars returned to action Tuesday to dismantle Life Waxahachie on the road, 57-21.

Sophomore Jerzie Bryant leads the Jaguars with 14.7 points-per-game. She also averages an impressive 6.7REB, 3.4ASST and 2.8STL. 

Senior Elizabeth Schmidt averages 11.9PPG and 6.9REB, while the 7.5 rebounds-per-game for sophomore Kora Huff (9.8PPG) leads the team.

Heritage will face Hillsboro (Friday, Jan. 29 at home), Dallas Thunder (Monday, Feb. 1 at home, non-district) and Ferris (Friday, Feb. 2 away) before closing out the regular season with a make-up game against Venus at 11 a.m. Saturday at Heritage High School. 

The Jaguars will secure the outright district title with a win in either of their final three district games (Hillsboro, Ferris, Venus) or a Godley loss in any of its final two (Venus, Life Waxahachie).

For the historians out there, former Heritage district foes (17-2) Stephenville and (22-2) Glen Rose entered the week ranked No. 5 and 6, respectively. Glen Rose “upset” Stephenville on Tuesday, 39-33. 

FERRIS

The Ferris Lady Yellowjackets are currently in a dogfight to the finish in District 11-4A.

Before tip-off Tuesday, Ferris sat with a 5-13 overall record but, more importantly, a 4-4 district mark. The latter record had the Lady Yellowjackets a half-game up on (9-11, 4-5) Alvarado and (9-11, 4-5) Life Waxahachie for the fourth-and-final district playoff berth.

A final score between Ferris and Venus, in a game scheduled for Tuesday evening, had not yet been reported.

Lili Garcia (14.5PPG) and Ziria Wright (11.6PPG, 4.8REB, 3.4STL) lead the Lady Yellowjacket attack.

Ferris closes out the season against Life Waxahachie (Friday, Jan. 29 at home), Hillsboro (Tuesday, Feb. 2 away) and district-leading Midlothian Heritage (Friday, Feb. 5 at home). 

LIFE WAXAHACHIE

See above, as no additional stats or updated records have been provided to KBEC Sports. 

Life Waxahachie closes out the season against Ferris, Alvarado (Tuesday, Feb. 2 at home) and Godley (Friday, Feb. 5 away).

MAYPEARL

The (12-5, 6-0) Maypearl Lady Panthers are once again playoff-bound out of District 9-3A.

Maypearl solidified its place atop the district standings, at least in the top-2, with an impressive 54-39 road victory against rival Grandview on Jan. 12.

The Lady Panthers are led by seniors Maliah Sommers (8.6PPG, 2.3ASST), Hadlee Gibson (8.3PPG, 5.4REB) and Morgan McAlister (7.6PPG, 2.4REB). Sophomore Taysie Trejo (8.3PPG, 3.4STL) is also a leading scorer for Maypreal, while junior Lex Berryman (6.1PPG) leads the team with 5.5. rebounds per game.

Maypearl returns to action at 6 p.m. Friday at home against A-Plus Academy out of Dallas. The Lady Panthers defeated A-Plus Academy 70-9 in the previous meeting on Jan. 5.

MILFORD

Despite their impressive 11-3 overall record and 8-3 mark in District 26-1A, the Milford Lady Bulldogs remained unranked in the TABC 1A poll.

The Lady Bulldogs share a district with No. 19 (19-3, 10-0) Hubbard and are currently second in the district standings. Milford has already secured a playoff berth.

The Lady Bulldogs are fresh off of a 41-32 win against Bynum.

Milford is led by freshmen Taniah Gates (12.4PPG, 5.1REB, 5.5STL) and Lynia Brooks (9.6PPG, 4.7REB, 3.1STL) and seniors Lydia Brooks (8.5PPG, 7.8REB, 5.3STL) and Tynessia Rogers (7.1PPG, 5.2REB). 

Rogers poured in a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double on Tuesday, while the younger Gates had 14 points. 

ENNIS

The Ennis Lady Lions are currently 4-17 overall, 0-10 in District 14-5A and have been eliminated from playoff contention.

Senior Precious Wilson leads the team with 6.2PPG.

PALMER

The Palmer Lady Bulldogs are currently 9-10 overall and 2-10 in District 18-3A. They have been eliminated from postseason contention.

ITALY

The Lady Gladiators currently sit fifth District 12-2A with a 2-5 league mark and 5-13 overall record. 

Italy had lost five consecutive games ahead of Tuesday’s tilt against (3-12) Rio Vista.

No additional stats or updated records have been provided to KBEC Sports. 

AVALON

According to MaxPreps, Avalon remains winless on the season. No additional stats or updated records have been provided to KBEC Sports.