Something has clicked for Cinco Ranch over the past two weeks.

After opening District 19-6A play with two losses in three games, including an overtime loss to Katy, the Cougars have reeled off five straight wins, including wins over state ranked Tompkins and Seven Lakes.

“The kids have just continued to buy in and trust the process,” said Cinco Ranch head coach Tamara Collier. “They really believe in each other and they know every single one of them has each others backs. They’ve learned that it takes all of them working together and it’s not just one player out there on the floor. The amount of buy in and support we’ve had from all of them is just awesome.”

The Cougars have continued to improve all season, they play a tough full court press style of defense and it tires opponents while they continue to get better as games go on.

“We have to be in crazy shape to be able to do what we do on defense,” said junior guard Danielle Williams. “We do so much running in practice so we can be in shape enough to do the press. Our thing is we want to get a lot of steals and force a lot of turnovers. When we work together we get lots of steals and get out in transition.”

That defense was on full display Friday, as Cinco Ranch beat Mayde Creek 62-33, continuing their hot run of form in the second game of the second half of district play.

The Cougars came out with their full court press and wreaked havoc, allowing seven first quarter points while scoring 22. They continued their onslaught in the second quarter to take a 35-16 lead going into half.

The Cougars wouldn’t be able to play the style of play they want to if it wasn’t for their deep bench. Cinco Ranch gets out in transition at every opportunity, taking every chance to turn defense into offense and disrupting any offense the opposing teams try to get into.

Cinco Ranch makes substitutions often to keep the team fresh and Collier counts it as a blessing that she is able to have so many talented players.

“It’s definitely a plus,” she said. “The energy, I tell them all the time, the energy comes from the bench. So the effort of those girls who didn’t start, those girls on the bench and what they do is just as important as those that start. Really it starts in practice, everyone has to come ready to compete and be ready to play with anyone, so I mix my teams up so everyone knows how to play with each other. You have to make sure your starters and your role players can play with each other.”

Cinco Ranch thrives off that transition basketball and it led to Danielle Williams scoring 21 points and Aniya Foy scoring 13 on the night.

The Cougars ballooned their lead to 46-23 in the third quarter as they went on to easily win their fifth straight game.

Cinco will play

 Going into the thick of the second half of district play, Williams thinks the team is starting to peak at the right time.

“I feel like this is the absolute best time to start peaking,” Williams said. “It will help at the end of the district season and help us get a chance to win district and do well in the playoffs.”

District 19-6A

Cinco Ranch 66, Mayde Creek 33

Points: (CR) Danielle Williams 21, Aniya Foy 13, Madison Mascorro 10, Holly Firth 5, Kinsley Harding 4, Camille Terrance 4, Sofia Budnik 3, Joyce Youssef; (MC) Sania Thomas 19, Zena Tarhani 7, Johnson 2, Agree Fykes, Logan Johnson 2.

Halftime: Cinco Ranch 35-16; 3-Pointers: (CR) Williams 3, Firth; (CR) Thomas 2, Tarhini; Records: Cinco Ranch 15-8, 6-2; 4-19, 0-7