Teams make adjustments in non-district play

The 2016-2017 girls high school basketball season is through its first two weeks. Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine and Carroll are all in positions where they are still learning about themselves and where their strengths and weaknesses reside.

Respective district seasons do not begin for another month. But each of these teams should be in playoff contention.

Carroll (3-3): Head coach Teri Morrison understood that this was going to be a transition year for her program. That didn’t mean she was conceding anything. The Lady Dragons lost their all-district post Anna Hurlburt (Arkansas-Little Rock) and then saw score-at-will wing Priscilla Smeege move to Florida.

With several players showing potential but not the track record, the Lady Dragons were going to be challenged to score consistently. So far, Carroll has gone through good and difficult moments.

The Lady Dragons won their first two games against Keller Central and Richland but have dropped three of their last four. Carroll has surpassed 50 points only once, the opener against Central. However, this team is balanced with five players averaging between 5.2 and 6.2 points per game.

The emergence of freshman Jillian Sowell has created some excitement. She’s averaging six points and is just learning the nuances of the varsity game. Morrison believes she has a rotation of nine mixed with several move ins. She also likes the early scoring prowess from sophomore point guard Kayla Colan.

Carroll played only one game this week, Monday against Grapevine. While Euless Trinity is the prohibitive favorite in District 5-6A, Carroll should be in the running for a playoff spot.

Colleyville Heritage (4-2): Dianna Sager’s team jumped out to a fast start when it won its own tournament for the first time since 2006. That also happened to be the year Colleyville Heritage advanced to the Region I tournament.

Following her return from the volleyball season, junior post Bryn Gerlich has gone through a seamless transition. She scored 31 points in a loss to Denton Ryan last week. She will be the go-to player for this team again.

In 2015-2016, Sager decided to open the floor and take advantage of this team’s three-point shooting capability. This year, there’s going to be more of that between Gerlich and junior guards McKinley Charles and Caitlyn Foster.

Hannah Verdi is at full strength after missing most of 2015-2016 with a torn ACL.

“I love Hannah’s leadership,” Sager said. “She’s not afraid of telling people where to go. She’s going to find the weak [opposing defensive] person and take advantage of that.”

Sager calls this the most mentally tough team she has coached. The Lady Panthers played Mansfield Summit on Tuesday. They should be the favorite in District 8-5A.

Grapevine (1-2): Losing point guard Abby Sandy to graduation took a lot out of a team that has struggled to start the season. Head coach Lindy Slagle has seen her team score in the teens and 20s in two of the first three games.

Slagle wasn’t waiting around until Thanksgiving break to make offensive changes.

“After [the loss to Argyle] we started to re-evaluate where we are and what we need to do to immediately to pick up the scoring,” Slagle said. “I didn’t expect us to struggle this much early. But we’re just going to have to keeping picking it up.”

That might start with sophomore guard Samantha Tatum, who is considered a dynamic scorer. Freshman 6-0 post Dasha MacMillan is a varsity newbie.

Then there’s the new addition coming to the Slagle family coming. Slagle is expected her first baby – a boy – around Christmas. It’s not clear how that will impact her for coaching the rest of the season once that happens.

Grapevine played Carroll on Monday and Denton on Tuesday. Despite the early season struggles, the Lady Mustangs are expected to be in the playoff hunt in District 8-5A.

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Teams make adjustments in non-district play."