A 50-24 thumping against Irving last Friday nearly wrapped up the top seed for the Lady Panthers (24-10, 12-1 in 6-5A). They had not clinched the outright district title because they had to beat Irving Nimitz on Tuesday at home on senior night in a game played before the print deadline.
The only thing the Lady Panthers knew was that they were assured of sharing the district title with either Hurst L.D. Bell or Irving MacArthur. Those two teams played each other Tuesday at MacArthur.If there was a stunning loss to the Lady Vikings and a MacArthur win to create the tie, Colleyville Heritage would still earn the top seed because it swept the Lady Cardinals. If the tie occurred against L.D. Bell, that’s where a coin flip would come into play to determine the top seed. Colleyville Heritage and L.D. Bell split their meetings.Coach Dianna Sager said the district minutes do not allow teams to play for the berth unless there is a play-in game involved.Again, it was highly unlikely that this was going to happen given that Colleyville Heritage won the first meeting with Nimitz, 58-22.If they earned the top seed, they would meet the No. 4 seed in 5-5A in the bi-district round. That’s a battle between Coppell, Lewisville and Hebron. If they had to settle for the second seed, then they would likely meet third seed Denton Ryan.DiversityThe diversity of this offense has told the fortunes of the season for Colleyville Heritage. You can capsulize it in the two meetings with MacArthur.In the first meeting on Jan. 4, a Colleyville Heritage 56-45 win, the Lady Cardinals tried a 2-3 zone to shut down the block with Artavia Ford and Caroline Gonzalez. But because this is a pretty good shooting team, Heather Roberts erupted from the perimeter for 22 points and Victoria Bratcher added 17.The second meeting on Jan. 29, a Colleyville Heritage 51-43 win, was played somewhat differently. The Lady Cardinals still went after Ford but dared Gonzalez to beat them with the 15-foot jumpers from around the free throw line.She did as 18 of her 21 points came from that spot.“Caroline just was focused the entire night,” Sager said. “This team reminds me so much of our 2007 [regional playoff] team because we have the inside-outside game.”But you need a good decision maker and senior point guard Emily Besserer keeps demonstrating solid that. She’s averaging nearly four assists to 1.5 turnovers per game.“She does a great job handling the pressure in the front court and just getting people in the right spot,” Sager said. “I’m really happy for her.”Grapevine updateWhen the week began, the Grapevine girls basketball team knew it had at least two games remaining in the season. But the first game would tell a lot about the future of the second.The Lady Mustangs (17-15, 7-6 in 6-5A) held fourth place all by themselves and owned a one-game lead over Euless Trinity (6-7). However, Grapevine finished the regular season Tuesday at Trinity. The scenarios were pretty simple:Beat the Lady Trojans and Grapevine clinches the playoff spot and faces the top seed in District 5-5A, which was probably going to be Flower Mound. Lose and the teams finish tied with 7-7 records and must play a play-in game to determine who moves on. The Lady Mustangs were looking for their fourth playoff appearance in the last five seasons.Last week’s scenarios played out as scripted. Grapevine struggled but did enough to beat Irving and Carrollton R.L. Turner. Trinity beat Irving Nimitz but was blown out by Hurst L.D. Bell to drop one game back.“[Madyson] Broussard has been to the playoffs as a sophomore, and she’s talked to the girls about how special that is,” coach Steve Ganninger said. “There are lots of teams who never get in. She’s let them know how cool it is to make the playoffs and to get T-shirts made and that you have a chance to keep playing.”Grapevine played arguably its best game of the season in the first meeting with Trinity, a 54-33 victory on Jan. 11. The combination of Mandi Routon, Nicole Taake and Broussard teamed up to score 36 points. But this group had been struggling as of late. It has struggled with its shooting in the last three games.“We’re due,” Ganninger said. “I’ve been trying to tell them to play loose and to keep the pressure what it is. They just have to play and let the game go. Don’t just push the ball. We have talented kids. We just need to relax.”Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
