FORT WORTH -- Senior Maddie Heiss made her return to the starting lineup on Friday night and scored 22 points to help the Friars defeat Nolan Catholic 69-61 in Hartnett Arena.

The Vikings and Friars went back and forth all night long in a fast-paced shootout. After the first quarter, the score was 26-21 in favor of the Friars. Maddie Heiss and Ellery Sample each had six points to lead the way. The Vikings did not back down though, they opened up the second quarter on a 14-0 run and used that to take a 42-41 lead into halftime.

Nolan had the lead going into halftime because of their three-point shooting. They shot 9-19 in the first half and to put that into perspective, in the first meeting against BL they only shot 3-34 from three in the entire game.

Though the Friars had created many Viking turnovers and were shooting the ball well, they found themselves down at the half. This goes to prove it is hard to win district road games.

In the third quarter, and really the entire second half, the Friars started to play more aggressive defense and a slow-paced offense. This style of play created an advantage for the black and white. The Vikings only shot 1-12 from three in the second half and 7-23 (30.4%) from the field. The Friars also forced 10 turnovers in the second half.

Natalie Cardenas scored seven of her 10 points in the second half. Though the senior only scored 10 points, she made her presence known in other ways on the court. She tied a season-high with eight assists and also had four steals on defense. 

Fre Vowels continued her hot outside shooting by hitting four threes to finish with 14 points. Sample finished the game with her fifth double-double of the season as she grabbed 10 rebounds to add to her 11 points.

Heiss returning to the lineup really helped the Friars on the court. The 69 points scored for BL was the most since Heiss left the lineup. The Buffalo commit's 22 points were the fifth time she has reached 20+ points on the season, doing it in both district games she has played in.

SUB-VARSITY:
The junior varsity team defeated Nolan 70-36 on Friday night. They are now 11-13, 5-1 on the season. 

The freshman team defeated Nolan 39-30 on Friday night. They are 10-9 on the season. 


TAPPS 6A - DISTRICT 1 STANDINGS:
John Paul II: 27-4, 9-0
Bishop Lynch: 21-9, 7-1
Nolan Catholic: 23-9, 6-3
Parish Episcopal: 20-6, 3-4
Ursuline Academy: 13-13, 2-6
Prestonwood: 12-15, 1-7
Trinity Christian: 8-18, 0-8

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