Cy-Fair girls shut down Cypress Creek late in 63-55 win

A series of key defensive stops in the fourth quarter lifted Cy-Fair to a 63-55 win over District 17-5A rival Cypress Creek Tuesday at the Berry Center.

The Bobcats, now 5-1 in league play and 14-9 for the season, worked hard to preserve the decision on the defensive end as both offenses struggled in the final eight minutes.

When Dana Fullerton banked in a shot to pull Cy Creek within 57-53 with 6:30 left to play, there was little indication of the offensive deep freeze about to envelop the Berry Center floor.

Six free throws by Cy-Fair provided the only movement on the scoreboard until Cy Creek's Angelica Weaver put in a basket in the final seconds.

In between, the Cougars went scoreless on nine straight possessions. Five of those ended in turnovers, with Cassie Peoples, Elaine Jones and Kelsi Corrales all coming up with steals.

"What I was pleased about was that we did it without fouling," Bobcat coach Ann Robique said. "It was a stop, a possession and an opportunity for us. Elaine did a great job with her outside hand, got the ball out and maintained possession.

"I think the kids knew it was now or never. We had to get it done then."

Cy-Fair struggled to contain Cy Creek's inside game in the first half.

Caitlin Beale and Ikpeaku Iwobi had had points each to help the Cougars establish a 35-31 halftime lead.

Peoples took over the Bobcats offense in the third quarter, scoring 18 of her game total of 29 points. Cy-Fair opened the second half with a 10-2 run and ended the third period with a 55-49 advantage.

"Cassie had those opportunities because earlier (in the first half), she was finding her teammates," Robique said. "That created what happened in the later part of game."

Four three-point shots by Cy Creek's Maddy McGlamery stretched the defense and contributed to Cy-Fair troubles cutting off the inside. McGlamery ended with 18 points, but was scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Keeping the Cougars from scoring on inside feeds and second shots was key to the Bobcats' chances in the final eight minutes.

"We didn't do a good job of knowing where their players were," Robique said.

"We knew where the ball was, but we didn't know where the players were. That hurt us several times.

"When we were aware of it, then we were cutting that off and not giving them the free look or the free dive across the lane. There had to be a lot of communication out there."