Legacy girls surge past Cimarron

The Longhorns had made just 4 of 27 shots and trailed host Cimarron-Memorial by eight points.

A halftime speech, some good looks at the basket and a bit of a bizarre finish later, the Longhorns had their confidence back.

Legacy bounced back from a dreadful first half and posted a 37-35 win over the Spartans, remaining one game out of first place in the Northwest League.

“They played frustrated, playing from behind,” Legacy coach Tiffany Richardson said. “In my halftime speech, I told them they were better than what they were playing. We just needed to concentrate.”

The Longhorns had just one second-quarter basket — a 3-pointer by Roberta Warren with 2:28 left in the half.

But Legacy (10-8, 5-1 Northwest) finally started to show life in the second half.

Neisha Jackson’s stick-back basket 1:59 into the third quarter started an 8-0 run that pulled the Longhorns within 24-23.

Jackson finished with 10 points to lead Legacy.

“Neisha is a sneaky player,” Richardson said. “She’s a quiet leader. She settles everyone down.”

Three of the four baskets during the run came from in the paint, an area Legacy barely visited in the first half.

Another 6-0 run to close the quarter gave the Longhorns a 29-28 lead.

“We started playing as a team,” Richardson said. “We started picking each other up instead of putting each other down.”

Legacy didn’t score again until Jackson’s short jumper with 2:10 left and took the lead for good at 36-34 on Justice Akins’ three-point play with 1:05 left.

Traci Parks, who led Cimarron (2-7, 2-5) with 18 points and 17 rebounds, missed two free throws with 51.7 seconds left.

Akins then hit the front end of a one-and-one with 38.4 seconds left to push the margin to three.

After Cimarron missed an open 3-point attempt and grabbed the offensive rebound, Kiana Harper was fouled shooting another 3-pointer.

Harper made 1 of 3 to cut the Spartans’ deficit to 37-35.

Legacy’s Mayisha Marlowe missed the front end of a one-and-one with 10.1 seconds left, but the Longhorns got the rebound and almost killed the clock before Akins was fouled with 0.7 seconds left.

She missed the free throw, and after an inadvertant whistle gave Cimarron a second chance at a beyond-half-court heave, the Longhorns had their win.

“This was big for us,” Richardson said. “I’m hoping this confidence carries over.”