Surely, the Atlanta Lady Rabbits had a plan going into Thursday’s area championship game against the Mineola Lady Jackets. Defensively, it likely called for a tightly packed zone defense which denied getting the ball inside.

The plan never survived contact as the Lady Jackets hit their first four three-pointers and took a 12-2 lead, forcing the Rabbits out of their zone and into a man-to-man defense. 

It was indicative of the whole night as Mineola adjusted to anything Atlanta presented and went on to register a commanding 58-33 win at Hallsville High School.

Mineola out-shot, out-ran and out-rebounded the Lady Rabbits. It was quite a decisive win, especially for East Texas High School basketball playoffs.

Kali Chrietzberg hit two of those opening shots from long range. She was joined by Mahayla McMahon and Kaitlyn McMahon. 

After that initial Atlanta time-out to stem the tide, Mineola finished the quarter on a 9-2 run. Chrietzberg and Mahayla McMahon each scored again, with Sophia Hogue scoring on a drive and Adelyn Steward on a sequence in which she secured three offensive rebounds. 

Defensively, Mineola applied immense pressure on the Atlanta ball-handlers, and dominated on the boards. The Lady Jackets used their wits and quick feet to pick up two charging calls against the Lady Rabbits in the opening few minutes.

After one quarter of play, the Lady Jackets led 21-6.

It was perhaps a sequence early in the second quarter which did more than anything else to secure the win. Caroline Castleberry chased down a ball which was headed out of play, in the Lady Jacket’s offensive zone. She managed to fling it back into play. 

An Atlanta player intercepted the ball and had a clear path to the basket on a long breakaway. She was run down by Castleberry who then blocked the lay-up attempt. One could literally see the confidence escaping from the Lady Rabbits like steam under pressure.

Shortly thereafter, Mineola broke a Lady Rabbit press with a beautiful passing sequence from Mahayla McMahon to Kaitlyn McMahon to Marley Johnson for a score. 

Atlanta ceased pressing and went back to a zone. It didn’t matter. Hogue hit a three-pointer and Steward scored again with an offensive rebound follow-up.  

At the half, Mineola held a 20-point advantage, 32-12.

The Lady Jackets quickly made it a 40-14 lead, forcing another Atlanta time-out.  When play resumed, Canyon Redding and Haylee Nicholson tallied three-pointers, and Redding scored again on an offensive rebound.

The Jackets’ scoring pace slowed a bit in the second half, but their tempo of play certainly did not slow.  They pushed the ball on every occasion, fearlessly drove the ball to the basket, and never hesitated to step up and take a shot – even at distance – when open. 

They were also unselfish, getting the ball to an open player, or drawing the defense out to themselves before dishing it off behind the nearest defenders.  

As examples, in the third period, Castleberry stole the ball and found Kaitlyn McMahon for a lay-in. Hogue drew three defenders as she drove the lane and sent a precise bounce pass down to Steward at the low post. Steward finished.  

The Lady Jackets moved on to the third round of playoffs, and they do so after having played perhaps their best basketball of the year. They will need that type of effort and production, as the third round of playoffs traditionally mark a new level in competition. 

The Lady Jackets appear more than ready to meet the challenge.