Salese Blow leads Plano to 66-54 victory over Little Elm in Texas girls basketball playoffs

FRISCO, Texas - Salese Blow scored 24 points to lead the Plano Wildcats (26-9) to a 66-54 victory over the Little Elm Lobos (15-13) in the first round of the 6A Texas girls basketball playoffs Tuesday night.

The Wildcats advance to the second round of the 6A UIL girls basketball playoffs where they will face South Grand Prairie.

The crowd was electric at Independence high school as the schools squared off in an instant classic. 

Multiple lead changes and gritty play from both teams characterized the first half of play, where Plano jumped out to a 35-28 advantage. 

After the game, Plano head coach Kelly Stallings spoke on the back-and-forth action in the first half.

“We just stayed persistent,” Stallings said. “Defense honestly gives us a lot of energy, especially with transition points. You saw we got some easy ones from our defense. ”

The Wildcats opened the third quarter with the same energy and saw their lead balloon to 10 points until the Lobos rallied to tie things before the fourth. 

With four minutes left in the final period of play, the Wildcats pulled away from the Lobos on a late-game run to cement their 26th win of the season. 

Blow led the way for the Wildcats, totaling 24 points and knocking down a number of key free throws in the fourth. 

Jaden Berry added 14 points in an impressive display of outside shooting. 

“It’s just about coming out strong and fast,” said Blow. “Not letting a team get up on you because they did have shooters that could light it up from anywhere.”

Blow also shared how she found opportunities at the charity stripe.

“I’ve always struggled with rebounding,” she said. “I know that rebounding leads to and-ones. Offensive rebounds help period, so that was definitely a focus for getting to the line today.”

In light of the win, coach Stallings looked ahead to the rest of the postseason. 

“It’s the same mindset,” she said. “Get to work, trust in the game plan, and trust in each other and stay together as a team. We can go as far as we want.”