High School Basketball

Stout defense leads Tompkins to blowout of Elkins

By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
Posted 2/14/23

“We wanted to come out with our foot on the gas and not let them have a chance. We just came out fast, we didn’t let them have any hope and we kept going at them. This is the playoffs and you can’t take anyone lightly, that was the key for tonight.”

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in
High School Basketball

Stout defense leads Tompkins to blowout of Elkins

Posted

Tompkins has put an emphasis on defense all season.

The Falcons have strived to shut teams down on that side of the ball, to make life as hard as possible on their opponents and disrupt and suffocate anything the opposing teams want to do offensively.

It’s been a complete team effort for the Falcons, as they have been a very strong defensive team all season from top on down and at the top of it all is Tanya Philip.

Philip, a senior wing, is one of the keys to the Falcons defense, her length, pressing and flexibility in being able to guard both guards and posts has made her indispensable for the Falcons.

That presence was felt on Monday, as Philip and the rest of the Falcons defense stepped up in a huge way to earn the Falcons a 62-34 win over Fort Bend Elkins in the Bi-District round, as Tompkins moved on to the area round for the fourth year in a row.

“Tanya just causes so much problems with her length and that was big for us tonight,” said Tompkins head coach Tamatha Ray. “She had been struggling just a little bit coming into this game with her aggressiveness but she was so good tonight. Really the whole defense was very good for us. The kids are comfortable with the way we play it even if we switch it up. Whether we’re in a zone, pressing full court or half court, they know their job and know exactly what they need to do on defense.”

The Falcons didn’t show off just their defense in the game though, as they came out aggressively on both ends and never let Elkins get any footing in the game.

Tompkins scored 17 first quarter points while giving up just five, sprinting out to a huge early lead and never looing back as they grew it to 35-14 at halftime.

“We wanted to come out with our foot on the gas and not let them have a chance,” said senior post Fiyin Adeleye. “We just came out fast, we didn’t let them have any hope and we kept going at them. This is the playoffs and you can’t take anyone lightly, that was the key for tonight.”

Tompkins was led by Macy Spencer, who finished with 18 points, while Rihanna DeLeon had 12 points and both Bella Riggan and Adeleye both had nine in an all-around effort.

“It makes us so hard to guard when we space the floor and have so many players contributing and shooting well,” Ray said. “Fiyin hit a three early and that’s something she’s very capable of and we were aggressive on that end of the floor.”

The Falcons had a bit of a let up early in the second half, giving up three turnovers and starting slow, but they quickly got back into the flow of things and continued to pull away to secure the win.

The Falcons are an experienced team, which made it to the regional quarterfinal round last season. They know what to expect and they are ready for the challenge of continuing their playoff run. Tompkins will play either Westside or Cy-Ridge in the area round, date, time and location to be determined.

“We have to keep playing our game and not be satisfied,” Philip said. “We have to keep our focus in practice, keep getting better and focusing on ourselves. We’ll have a gameplan, take it game by game and see what we can do.”

Class 6A Bi-District

Points: (T) Macy Spencer 18, Rihanna DeLeon 12, Bella Riggan 9, Fiyin Adeleye 9, Gabby Panter 6, Tanya Philip 4, Caitlyn D’Addieco 2, Sascha Coughran 2; (E) Paris Anderson 12, Aryionna Cox 8, Cheyenne Trusclair 6, Cecily Callegari 4, Maddie Rhea 3, Ella Taylor 3, Amani Forch 2;

Halftime: Tompkins 35-14; 3-Pointers: (T) DeLeon 3, Adeleye 2, Riggan, Spencer; (E) Cox 2, Taylor, Anderson; Records: Tompkins: 27-7; Fort Bend Elkins: 20-14

Katy ISD, Tompkins, basketball, playoffs, sports