In the second day of the Coppell Tipoff Classic, the Cowboys came away with a loss against Irving MacArthur and a win against John Paul II, while the Cowgirls took two wins against Frisco Legacy and Richardson Pearce.

The Cowgirls went on beat Legacy, 54-44, and Pearce, 60-31 to advance to the championship game and win the championship against Royse City, 64-44.

“Out of the third quarter [against Pearce] we stood out; before the third quarter, it was rough,” Coppell coach Ryan Murphy said. “The third quarter was much more the style we want to play. It was more aggressive, we executed much better, our defensive intensity was much better. It made Pearce really uncomfortable.”

Though a few smart play calls from Murphy and hustle after the halftime speech issued by Murphy brought Coppell over the top, the Cowgirls plan to focus more on consistency for its district play.

“We’re known to come out flat and finish hard but we need all that time to play well for the district we’re in,” Coppell sophomore guard Ella Spiller said. “We managed, though, the score was close, and we were competing for the championship so we were like, ‘this can’t happen’ so the team bonded together, worked hard and got the job done.”

The Cowboys beat John Paul II, 85-81, in a comeback win. Though the Cardinals pulled away in the second quarter, Coppell senior small forward Ryan Agarwal and sophomore Alex Tung made big plays to put the Cowboys back on top at the end of the third. 

“The guys are playing with patience, they’re trusting each other, they’re stepping up and making plays when plays need to be made,” Coppell coach Clint Schnell said. “We did a great job being patient offensively and working good shots and taking what they gave us. ”

Tung and Coppell sophomore Arhan Lapsiwala came in strong as the youngest starters with the Cowboys with 10 and six points respectively. 

“They have stepped up huge,” Agarwal said. “The fact that these two are playing in this environment and with this amount of people watching them with that kind of confidence, it’s just amazing to see. They’re just going to continue to grow.”Despite a few turnovers and busted defenses, the Cowboys headed in confidently to their next game against Irving MacArthur, where they lost 56-55. Coppell senior guard Naz Brown, who put up 20 points against John Paul II, was out due to load management after his previous knee injury.

“It’s hard to play two emotional games on back to back days,” Schnell said. “We fought, we battled, but our energy wasn’t where it was and our shots weren’t going down. The guys didn’t let it get them down; they kept fighting right through the end.”

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