Since the end of January, RISD athletics have been a whirlwind of excitement from state competitions, advancement in UIL playoffs, coaching changes, and an ice storm that rescheduled the entire department.
Picking up where we left off, let’s recap the final few weeks of the season for boys and girls basketball, featuring a few close matchups along with final district standings for all teams.
In late January, all four RISD boys basketball teams had a night of nail-biters.
The Berkner Rams traveled west to Richardson High School for a fiercely fought battle against the Eagles. The Rams held the lead for a bit, but the Eagles eked out a win by only a single point with a final score of 46-45.
A little north up Coit Road, the Pearce Mustangs took on the Jesuit Rangers in a heated district battle, and Pearce pulled off a much-needed win at 65-63.
The Lake Highlands Wildcats hosted Highland Park in another close game that went into double overtime. The Wildcats narrowly brought home the win at 80-76.
This level of intensity continued over the following weeks, and when the season ended, the Richardson boys finished third in District 7-6A while LHHS finished first. The next stop for the Eagles and Wildcats – bi-district champions.
Meanwhile, RISD’s girls basketball teams also brought the heat in both victory and defeat over the final games of the season. The Wildcats led the entire game against Irving Nimitz, securing an easy 61-45 victory, while the Eagles fell in a tough matchup against Highland Park at 60-48.
The final nail-biter takes us to Berkner where the Rams hosted the Mustangs. Both teams were relentless until the very end, taking it into overtime where Pearce prevailed at 36-34. When the girls basketball season ended, the Eagles finished second and the Wildcats third.
The Wildcats began the UIL girls playoffs against Arlington Bowie in the start of “gold ball season”. LHHS started strong and were down five at the half after a rough second quarter. They came out on fire in the third quarter on fire, scoring 20 points, pushing them to a 55-47 victory and the trophy for bi-district champions!
The following night, your Eagles competed against Arlington Martin in an aggressive game offensively and defensively the entire night. RHS prevailed with a monumental 74-38 win to become the district’s second bi-district champion!
In the boys UIL basketball playoffs, Richardson met Arlington Sam Houston at South Oak Cliff High School for the most intense game of the season. Both teams gave it their all on the court to fight for the title of bi-district champion, and your RHS Eagles prevailed with a final score of 50-46 to become another “gold ball” winner for RISD!
At the same time as the RHS game, the Lake Highlands boys battled Arlington Bowie in a fairly easy win for the Wildcats. It wasn’t surprising to see both sides of the court electric all night as they have been all season, and the Wildcats took home another win with a final score of 81-43 to become RISD’s fourth bi-district champion. Congratulations to these teams for making it this far! #RISDGreatness
The Lake Highlands boys team defeated Plano East in another nail-biter with a final score of 66-64 to become area then champion and advance to yet again take on Arlington Martin.
The Wildcats continued their greatness against Martin winning another close one 48-45, and then in the regional final, they dominated North Crowley with a final score of 63-43, bringing home another trophy for RISD!
Lake Highlands momentum held strong into the next round against Byron Nelson, as they maintained the lead by a large margin from the start, ending victorious at 62-36. The win sent the Wildcats to the UIL State playoffs for the first time since 1968, and during the game, top-ranked junior, Tre Johnson, banked in a first quarter, buzzer-beater from about 40 feet for career point 2000.
The Wildcats will compete Friday night down in San Antonio against DeSoto in the state semifinals with hopeful advancement to the state finals on Saturday. We are ALL behind you, Lake Highlands!
While this season’s basketball excitement was unfolding, athletes throughout RISD were shining as well! Let’s jump over to our wrestlers to catch up on their action from competing at State!
The Richardson Eagles and Lake Highlands Wildcats exhibited a dominating performance bringing home multiple medals for RISD!
LHHS homecoming queen Fernanda Lopez won the state title while second place went to Akeelah Moore of RHS, third place went to Sarah Connor of LHHS and fourth place went to Vanessa Egorah of the Eagles! Congratulations to Pearce’s Fernanda Pineda Garcia and Richardson’s Emily Cabrera for qualifying for state as well! Great job ladies! We are so proud of you!
RISD soccer began a few weeks ago with dominating performances throughout the district.
Currently in girls soccer, the Eagles sit at second in district, the Mustangs are third, and the Wildcats fourth. On March 7, the Wildcats and Eagles compete at Eagle-Mustang Stadium while Berkner travels to Highland Park to face the Scots.
The boys soccer teams have pivotal matchups coming up as they battle for playoff spots. The Eagles take on Lake Highlands at Wildcat-Ram Stadium on March 7, and the Rams play at Highland Park while the Mustangs travel to Irving. Best of luck to all our soccer players as we head into the home stretch of the season.
We also want to take a second to welcome Kendrick Holloway as our new Athletic Coordinator/Head Football Coach at Richardson High School. Coach Holloway made the leap over from Berkner, where he was the offensive coordinator for the past two years and is now leading the way at Richardson. We are all very excited to have Coach Holloway!
Next week, we will catch you up on all things softball, tennis, golf, and track and field’s first district meet, with an update on how Lake Highlands basketball did at State!
