Sophomore point guard brings passion for Lady Trojans basketball

Sophomore Haleigh Talbert got better and better as the girls basketball season went on under the tutelage of longtime Euless Trinity coach Sue Cannon.

Talbert is the starting point guard for the Lady Trojans, who fell short in the area round to Plano West last week to finish their season with a 27-6 record.

“I thought she did a terrific job as point guard as a sophomore, especially since we don't have a ninth grade on our campus and I could only work with her during the season last year. I look for Haleigh to really blossom at the point guard position in the next two years,” Cannon said.

Talbert began playing basketball when she was eight years old and quickly fell in love with the game. Her sister Jamiee graduated from Trinity in 2008 and played basketball with a passion that Talbert wanted when she started her high school career. Playing for Cannon also helped.

“Since I was young, it made me want to have all that and more. I play for Trinity because I wanted to be under a great coach who had a lot of experience,” Talbert said.

After a shaky start, the Lady Trojans picked it up and finished second in District 7-6A. They went 10-2 over district and the bi-district round, with the only two losses coming against district foe Southlake Carroll.

“In the beginning of the season, it was rocky. We had new faces on the team, new people to put faith in, but it seemed like our personalities had molded on and off the court and when our team relationships became stronger, it made the season turn out better than a lot of people would have thought,” Talbert said.

She expresses her respect for Cannon, and is looking forward to working hard during the offseason.

“Honestly, playing for coach Cannon to me is like a tour of how college ball and coaches will be like. She is a great woman and I'm glad to be playing for her,” she said.

“This offseason, I'm taking no days off. We can only get as far as we want to, but I'll also be doing the main thing that I lack at and that's analyzing the game more so I can perfect my basketball IQ and grow as a point guard.”

Although the Lady Trojans were knocked out in the second round, Talbert said for her and the rest of her team, it was one of the greatest experiences of her young life.

“We all had one goal and that was to make it far, and that's exactly what we did,” she said. “Maybe not as far as we wanted to in playoffs or even to state, but what we made it far in was how we had changed our mindsets for the game and the hard work we had shown.”

“The mentality we all had was crazy, and that's all we needed. We all shared some great moments of proving so many people wrong.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Sophomore point guard brings passion for Lady Trojans basketball."