West Plains girls basketball team builds up big lead, holds off Pampa late
West Plains head coach Kevin Richardson said splitting with the Pampa girls basketball team last year may have cost his team a playoff spot. This year, they had no interest in letting that happen again.
The Lady Wolves used dominant second and third quarter performances to build up a significant lead entering the final period. That allowed them the space they needed to take a 52-41 victory over the Lady Harvesters on Tuesday night at West Plains. The Lady Wolves are now 20-7 overall on the season and 5-2 in District 4-4A.
It was a back-and-forth contest early with WP leading 16-14 after the opening quarter before the Lady Wolves began to separate themselves. They held Pampa to four points in the second quarter and took a 30-18 edge into the locker room at halftime. The advantage grew to 43-26 entering the fourth quarter when Pampa began to claw back.
The Lady Harvesters' full court press led to several turnovers by West Plains and Pampa closes within six in the final eight minutes. Key plays down the stretch by the Lady Wolves gave them the win.
"I thought we were fortunate enough to build up a big lead," Richardson said. "When you build up that lead you can survive that press and the things they were doing. We survived the physicality of the game, too. Our kids responded well and didn't hang their heads ever, we just continued to play which is really positive for our team."
Dane'Ja Agu-White and Aaniyah Kitchen led the way for West Plains with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Pampa was led by Berlin Bartlett with 17 and Briley Daniels with 10. The Lady Harvesters are now 17-9 overall and 4-4 in district play.
Pampa will host Randall on Friday for its next game while West Plains will visit Dumas. West Plains sits third in the district right now while Pampa remains in fourth thanks to Perryton's win over Hereford on Tuesday.
More: GIRLS BASKETBALL: West Plains vs. Pampa
More: VOTE: Happy State Bank Female Athlete of the Week
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: West Plains girls basketball builds up big lead, holds off Pampa late
