Cipoletta Prepares Wildcats for District and Playoffs with Tough Games

Wildcats Basketball Coach Clark Cipoletta said the Forney ISD Winter Classic was a great experience for the Wildcats who again played some really good teams.

For the second straight tournament, the Wildcats won 2 and lost 2. They won their pool Thursday (December 6) with wins over North Mesquite and McKinney Boyd. Friday the Wildcats lost to Wylie, up to #13 this week in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Poll. Coach Cipoletta called the Pirates really athletic and he added they play hard. He said the 54-41 loss was a great learning opportunity. Coach Cipoletta said the Wildcats dug themselves into too big of a hole with turnovers and by not shooting well. Wylie jumped out to a 16-1 lead to start the game. Coach Cipoletta said he was proud of the Wildcats for battling back in the game. The Wildcats got to within 11 points in the fourth quarter. Saturday the Wildcats lost a third place game to Lake Highlands 55-53. Coach Cipoletta said Lake Highlands was a good team from top to bottom. He compared them to the Prosper team the Wildcats played last year in the playoffs that had five good players instead of one dominating player.

Coach Cipoletta said cold shooting, especially from three point range, hampered the Wildcats against Lake Highlands. He said the Wildcats only shot 13% from behind the arc for the game. Coach Cipoletta said the Wildcats’ played good enough defense to win.

The Wildcats, ranked #8 in Class 5A, are now 10-4 for the season. They face their biggest challenge of the season Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. as they travel to Denton Guyer, the #1 ranked team in Class 6A. Coach Cipoletta said Guyer has several major Division 1 players. He said it’s a challenge the Wildcats are looking forward to and he again called it a learning opportunity.

The match up with highly ranked Class 6A teams continues for the Wildcats Friday as they visit Jesuit of Dallas, ranked #6 in Class 6A.