Lady Eagles move into first-place tie in district

Thursday, May 28, 2026

PEARLAND — Dawson head coach Isabel Gomez knew what her team had to do in face league-leading Goose Creek Memorial. The Lady Eagles were one-game behind the Lady Patriots entering the district showdown and needed a clutch win to get back into the hunt for a shot at the league crown.

The opening quarter was close as the Lady Eagles overcame an early 5-2 deficit to go on a 9-0 run to take the lead 11-5 at the end of the first eight minutes of action.

GC Memorial outscored the Lady Eagles 13-11 in the second quarter as Dawson took a 22-18 lead into the dressing room at intermission.

Dawson got a strong first half performance from Kasi Matthews who lit it up with two 3-pointers, a basket, and 6-of-8 from the line giving her 14 points.

The score shouldn't have been that close as the Lady Eagles were struggling at the charity stripe hitting only 10-of-21.

"We left a lot of points at the free throw line," Gomez said. "We shoot free throws every day, but for some reason we just were off target."

Memorial was 4-of-6 from the line which kept them close to Dawson in the first half.

Gomez had her defense put a little more pressure on the Lady Patriots in the second half and it paid off as GC Memorial managed only four points while the Lady Eagles tossed in 11.

Corlissa Charles, Monica Gomes, and Kasi Matthews all hit a 3-pointer each while Charles also was 2-for-4 from the charity stripe giving Dawson a 33-22 lead entering the final frame.

The final frame would come down to free throws for Dawson and a scoring surge by Memorial sophomore guard Faith Cook who scored on Memorial's first five possessions to cut the lead to 35-30 before Anteria Richardson hit 3-of-4 from the line and Charles added a pair of free throws to give Dawson some breathing room.

But Cook wasn't going away as she tossed n 14 of her game-high 19 points down the stretch with her last bucket coming at the 1:23 mark. However, the Lady Eagles rode the free throw shooting of Gomes (7-of-10) in the fourth quarter to maintain the lead.

With 1:52 remaining the game, Memorial opulled within 40-35, but the Lady Eagles went on a 10-3 run to close out the game to get the critical win.

"This was huge for us," Gomez said. "Knowing that we should have won the first time we played them, this was more to avenge that loss."

Matthews finished with 18 points while Gomes and Charles added 10 points each and Charles had eight boards with Gomes snagging seven rebounds.

The win also gives Dawson the tie breaker over the Lady Patriots entering the playoffs and the seeding.

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