Julianna LaMendola's double-double leads Coppell to OT bi-district win over Allen in 6A Texas girls basketball playoffs
CARROLLTON, Texas — Going into their bi-district matchup in the Class 6A Texas high school girls basketball playoffs, the Coppell Cowgirls and Allen Lady Eagles both had something to prove.
Coppell and Allen each stumbled down the stretch of the regular season, each dropping pivotal games during the final week of district play that set the two DFW 6A powers on a collision course in the opening round of the 6A playoffs.
After a fierce battle for control throughout a back-and-forth first half, the Lady Eagles held off a second-half surge from the Cowgirls to send the game to overtime with the score knotted up at 34-34.
But during the overtime period, Coppell senior Julianna LaMendola — an Indiana Hoosiers commit — took control and scored seven points from the free-throw line in 5 minutes that served as the cherry on top of a double-double that helped seal the Cowgirls' 41-38 OT victory against Allen on Monday night at Carrollton Creekview High School.
The 6-foot-1 guard was targeted by Allen defensively, but LaMendola still ended up with 25 points, 12 rebounds and a very crucial fourth-quarter block to propel the Cowgirls into the second round of the 6A UIL girls basketball playoffs for the second consecutive season.
“They were ready for me,” LaMendola said. “They collapsed (defensively) and doubled me, so it left other people open and I really took advantage of that. I’m going to kick it out (them) because I trust my teammates. They can shoot, they can play and I think they’re overlooked on our team. I’m really proud of them and they really pulled out the W. It was a team effort today.”
After jumping out to a quick 6-0 advantage, Allen started spreading the ball around and claimed the momentum to take a 10-8 lead thanks to Raimi McCrary and Aryn Roberts, who scored five points each during the opening frame.
LaMendola continued her stellar performance during the second quarter despite trailing the Eagles for the entire quarter. Her four points from the free throw line kept Coppell in the game while Allen stayed ahead.
The Lady Eagles matched the Cowgirls’ eight points during the second quarter, though, to hold onto an 18-16 lead at the halftime break.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” LaMendola said. “I think when we were in the locker room, we knew what we needed to do to win and I think we executed it. In our minds we knew that we could win this game if we do what we need to do.”
Allen continued to spread the ball around well during the third quarter, and thanks to four more points by Roberts, the Lady Eagles held a one-point lead despite a strong surge from Coppell.
LaMendola scored four points during the frame herself and thanks to four more from Ella Spiller, the Cowgirls were able to cut the lead to one.
In the fourth quarter, Coppell retook the lead and put the pressure on Allen. Already in the bonus and with three fouls to spare, the Cowgirls were able to get aggressive.
However, four points from the Lady Eagles’ Simone Richmond were enough to help keep the game tied at 34-34 at the end of regulation.
“I think we used it to our advantage.” LaMendola said. “We had the bonus, they didn’t, so we knew that if we’re aggressive and we go towards the basket for a foul, we’re going to get to the line. And at that point it’s just a mental game of making the free throws and I think we won that.”
Coppell quickly retook the lead, and with Allen in desperation mode, LaMendola was fouled four times during the 5-minute overtime period. She ended up connecting on 7 of 8 of her free throw attempts to keep the Cowgirls ahead, and ultimately seal their 41-38 bi-district win.
“I’m just proud of my team,” LaMendola said. “It was a team effort and I think at the end of the day we really gameplanned for them. We executed our game plan perfectly and I think that’s what helped us win. We just played defense — we hang our hats on defense — and we were really scrappy getting boards.”
Coppell (34-3) moves on to the area round of the Class 6A UIL girls basketball playoffs, where the Cowgirls will face Highland Park (26-7) at a date, time and place to be determined.
Highland Park defeated Arlington Sam Houston on Monday night in the bi-district round of the 6A Texas high school girls basketball playoffs.
Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the game:
PHOTO GALLERY — COPPELL 41, ALLEN 38
All photos by Brian McLean
