Playoff basketball is here as the first day of the Bi-District round of the UIL girls brackets unfolded Monday night with the second day of opening-round playoffs to play Tuesday night.
Bi-District Blowouts
At least 14 games involving DFW-area teams were decided by 15 points or more on Monday night, leading with LD Bell's 29-point win over Arlington Bowie. It marked the first time since 2014 for Bell to move past the Bi-District round and it will meet Amarillo Tascosa in the Area. Fort Worth Benbrook completely dominated Arlington Uplift Summit for a 51-point win and Argyle won by 40 over Godley to advance.
Highland Park (57-point win over Dallas Samuell), Lancaster (50-point win over Joshua) and Mansfield Timberview (64-point win over Fort Worth Eastern Hills) also had no issues with their respective opening-round matchups to advance to the Area Round set for February 20-22.
Skyline's Rally Falls Short
Facing one of the top teams in the state, South Grand Prairie, Dallas Skyline fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit to force a tie at the end of the third quarter against South Grand Prairie after outscoring SGP by a 24-8 margin. However, Skyline couldn't push the comeback all the way through to the finish line, falling 57-5, despite having three players score in double figures.
Another First for Braswell
After the football program clinched its first-ever playoff berth in the fall semester, the girls basketball team added another first for the athletic department by winning its first-ever playoff game. Denton Braswell topped Saginaw 63-44 thanks to a 27-point effort by Alisa Williams, which included making four from behind the 3-point line.
The win sets up a state-ranked matchup between Braswell (No. 17) and Mansfield Timberview (No. 5) in the Area Round.
More Bi-District Action
One of the better matchups to look forward to on Tuesday is the matchup Garland Sachse and Allen matchup. Sachse is ranked 17th in the state while Allen enters having won 22 games during the regular season.
Sticking in 6A, another top-tier matchup in the opening round is Richardson facing off against No. 13 Cedar Hill.
In 5A, the Frisco Liberty-Lovejoy opening-round matchup looks to be a fun matchup as the two teams have combined for 40 wins.