The Pilot Point Lady Cats battled the Callisburg Lady Wildcats on Monday evening, with Pilot Point coming from behind to take a 33-31 victory.
Callisburg won the first meeting 38-21, but Pilot Point relied on its defense and timely shotmaking to take the rematch, and its second district win of the season.
“The first time we played them we didn’t play within ourselves,” head girls basketball coach K.J. Stastny said. “… This time, our kids were prepared because we had a solid game plan going in, and they stuck to it. They were meticulous about what we wanted to do, and I could see they were calm and focused.”
The two teams started slow, with Callisburg holding the slight edge with an early 4-point lead near the end of the opening quarter.
The Lady Wildcats continued to extend their lead to 8 points with a 10-6 run that brought the score to 14-6 midway through the second quarter.
Pilot Point found its footing on both ends of the court, shutting Callisburg’s offense down and scoring 7 unanswered points to make it a 1-point game at 14-13 at the half.
The two squads traded buckets to open the second half, but the Lady Cats continued to close the gap, taking a 21-19 lead on a three-pointer from point guard Madison Coronado with under three minutes left in the third quarter.
The game went into the final quarter with Pilot Point up 25-23.
The contest continued to be hotly contested, with Callisburg coming from behind to tie the score at 27 with 6 minutes left in the game.
Callisburg broke the tie, but Pilot Point refused to go away, finding ways to draw fouls and get to the free throw line, which allowed them to retake the lead.
The game came down to a final shot from Callisburg with Pilot Point forcing a miss and securing the rebound to seal the game at 33-31.
“All the stuff we’ve been working on since August is paying off right now,” Stastny said. 'We’ve had two really close home games, [and] this time I could see the wheels turning in their heads. They were like, ‘We’ve been here before. We’re good.’” Junior guard Sanaa Jackson led the Lady Cats with 14 points; along with big contributions from Coronado, who hit three three-pointers, and Braillen Brocato, who helped spark the Lady Cats offense with 4 points in the second quarter.
“We work on everything in practice, and we try to improve every day,” Jackson said. 'I like to work on driving to the hole, so when I get the ball in my hands and get to the rim in the game, my teammates trust me with it.”
Stastny also highlighted the energy from her team’s bench and the low post duo of sophomore centers Alliyah Smith and Jissel Esparza, who made their presence felt in the paint.
“Coming off of the bench, I try to motivate my team by always hustling and making sure their energy stays high,” Smith said. “I love helping my team, and whenever we’re playing together, everything flows better.”
After a slow start to the season, the Lady Cats have won two of their last three games, but Stastny said the team is focused on taking things one possession at a time.
“We’re taking it game by game,” she said. “Hopefully, this gives them even more of a confidence boost. … This is a new era in Pilot Point [athletics]. We haven’t had anything like this in a while. I just hope they carry that confidence, that teamwork, and that competitive spirit with them.”
