With injuries to starters Janelle Jenkins and Kayla Reinhart, the Southlake Carroll girls basketball team knows it has to work extra-hard in spite of nearly season-long dominance. And nobody knows better than senior Caitlin Barrett.
The 5-5 guard led the Lady Dragons with nine points against Keller, whose Lady Indians nipped the program 42-41 for the first district loss on the season, dropping Caroll into a tie for first place on Friday."It's definitely difficult to adjust to a team like that, but that's what we'll have going into the the playoffs as well," Barrett said. "But we just have to work really hard and challenge each other in practice to prepare for these games. We scout other teams really well, so hopefully we'll be prepared for them."Barrett, who began with the Lady Dragons as a fresman under former head coach Nikki Gilley, said the team has looked for help from its deep bench, which has responded."We have a couple of other girls who have stepped up," she said. "I know that Kate Lewis is doing an awesome job right now, and Gretchen Morris is also stepping up right now." Other players helping out are Kami Mickens, Kennedy Leonard and Sierra Maykus.The Lady Dragons even had to do without Barrett for a few games, said third-year head coach Teri Morrison. Barrett injured her nose, requiring surgery, but was back in against Keller."She's an exceptional kid, she takes it to an elite level emotionally and mentally," Morrison said. "She's like an overachiever, but an overachiever with skills, and her attitude is contagious. That's a huge positive when we're making a district run."Barrett exudes enthusiasm and motivation."I think this year we're going to go far, I mean, we want it this year more than in any of my four years here," she said. "We're all prepared to do what it takes to hopefully go all the way past regionals and to the state tournament. I believe we can go far as long as we all work together and share the ball and take care of ourselves this year."Morrison said that motivation even came through while Barrett was hurt, and that it's definitely helped her out."It's not so much that they aren't motivated to play, it's more that sometimes you play at the level of your opponent," Morrison said. "Most opponents want to make the game as ugly as possible, try to create some havoc and be unorthodox, so what we try to do is set quarter-by quarter goals, instead of looking at the overall big picture, what can we do this quarter to improve, and what can we do as a team to achieve that goal."Beyond her goals for the Lady Dragons this year, Barrett wants to find a college with good academics where she can continue her basketball career. She's thinking of studying to become an electrical engineer."Both of my parents were electrical engineers, so I kind of grew up around it," she said. "I'm very math and science oriented, and it just kind of grabs my attention."Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
