The girls basketball team will try to keep its district lead on Dec. 8 when the Hawks play against Lewisville in the arena at 6:15 p.m.
“[Staying] together [is] one of [the girls’] team goals,” head coach Lisa Branch said. “Stay together, play together and then the sky’s the limit. We’ve got guards who can shoot the ball, athleticism, length, size, an inside presence [and] depth. We [have] the pieces, we just need to make sure we stay together [and] play together every game.”
The team is on an eight-game win streak going into the game against Lewisville, which currently has a 4-8 overall record and lost their first district game to Marcus, 62-58.
“I feel pretty good [because] Lewisville is always fun to play against,” point guard Paris Bradley said. “They’re our rival school, but Lewisville isn’t that good. I don’t know why there is much hype around them.”
Branch said the team’s greatest strength is the experience the players have. Six seniors returned from last year’s team, which finished first in district and made it three games into the playoffs.
“An area of growth is [our defense],” Branch said. “We have several defensive schemes, so [we need to] know which defense we’re running at that time. Communication is very important. If I’m calling out a defense, then I need everybody on the team to call it out so that we’re all on the same page.”
Shooting guard Nehemiah Walker out for three months prior to district play beginning. Walker said she is working to get back into the groove on the offensive end.
“I get my momentum off the defensive end, so my [defense] starts my offense, [which is] really [the same] for all of us,” Walker said. “That’s what gets us going [on] defense, [and] when we get defensive stops, it translates to offense.”
Branch said the team’s main goal for the season is to take themselves as far as they did last year, and then push farther in the playoffs. Branch said the team is on track with this goal due to its current success, as the team is 14-1 going into the game.
“It’s not all about winning and losing to me,” Branch said. “It’s about getting the most out of each player [and] getting the best out of her. When she doesn’t see it in herself, it’s my responsibility to get it out of her. They won’t always remember the wins and the losses later on in life, but they will remember the friendships that they built and then those experiences that they had.”
