AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Amarillo High’s Lady Sandies completed a season sweep of Palo Duro with a 46-40 victory, while the Palo Duro boys pulled off an upset with a 54-44 win over the Sandies in a district doubleheader.
Lady Sandies win back-and-forth battle
The top 25 matchup featured No. 21 Amarillo High visiting No. 9 Palo Duro in a physical contest.
In the second half, Tyler Held sent the ball to Keanu Allen on the wing. Allen threw it down low to Kensleigh Payne, who finished the contested layup.
Palo Duro responded when Deveriahna Jenkins at the top of the key passed to Addi Johnson. Johnson found Zeinab Deng on the block, and Deng drew the and-one.
With the game tied, Held handed it off to Ella Brown, who threw it to Kam Soukup. Soukup found Held underneath the basket for a reverse layup.
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Amarillo High head coach Jeff Williams said he was proud of how his team competed.
“Really proud of how the kids competed because that game could have gone either way,” Williams said. “Really great basketball team, those kids over here at PD, they’re tough. Every board was physical, every loose ball, both teams fighting for it.”
Williams said the game came down to execution in the final moments.
“And it just came down to catching a few breaks at the end, making a few free throws, finally getting the ball inbounds on the sideline,” he said. “And they had to foul and Kam made her free throw, so it was a big win for us.”
Palo Duro boys pull upset
In the boys game, Cuda Clayton drove baseline to Kyron Brown, who quickly passed to Cheston Mitchell at the top. Mitchell took it to the paint and euro-stepped around the defense to score.
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Amarillo High responded when Will Sherwood passed to Patch Parr. Parr drove in, spun out and swung to Jax Richards on the wing. Richards connected on the three-pointer.
With 10 seconds left in the first half and Amarillo High looking to keep the lead, Gee Sanchez tipped and stole the ball. Sanchez went to the hoop and tied the game right before the buzzer.
Palo Duro pulled off the upset, defeating Amarillo High 54-44.
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