Lady Mustangs end history-making season
Seniors make a difference. When a new coach inherits a program, the upperclassmen can set the tone of the season.
But first-year Grapevine girls basketball coach Lindy Lombard secured the buy-in she was looking for in 2014-2015. Not only did the eight seniors accept the new coaching staff, they may have established the standard for how this program will function in future seasons.
A Class 5A Region I quarterfinal 54-35 loss to Wichita Falls Rider on Feb. 25 ended a historic season for the Lady Mustangs (32-3). While records at the 100-plus-year-old school are sketchy, it’s believed that Grapevine won its first district championship in at least 25 years, made its deepest playoff run in 20 years (the 1995 team advanced to the Class 5A Region I quarterfinals) and enjoyed the most wins of any Grapevine team in any season.
To envision this kind of debut season was more than Lombard could have envisioned. The move down to the new Class 5A combined with this senior roster conspired for the right outcome.
“It went beyond all of what we thought,” Lombard said. “There were a lot of things that went into how this season went. The kids were so willing to buy into our system. It’s not easy with seniors. But their attitude and willingness to change and adapt to a new style of play made the difference. They showed great leadership.”
Instead of going with an up-tempo pace of play that it had operated the last two seasons under Steve Ganninger, Lombard brought a half-court, no-nonsense, lockdown defensive approach. It demanded quality decisions from point guards to look for good shots and then choke the opposing offense.
This team wound up defeating several Class 6A programs, including GCISD rival Colleyville Heritage, Keller Fossil Ridge, Keller Timber Creek, Haltom and Midland.
The last seven weeks of the season required the team to bond even in times of incredible struggle. The program lost senior starting point guard Mandi Routon to a torn ACL in January. Five weeks later in the bi-district playoff win over Saginaw, it lost Nicole Taake to the same injury. Had either been healthy, Lombard would have liked to see how far this team could have advanced.
“Of course you think about that,” Lombard said. “But that’s the game. We had some bad luck with injuries. I was proud of the way the kids handled it.”
No reunion and a look to next season
The loss to Rider denied Lombard a chance to coach against her father Joe, the head coach at Canyon, in the Region I tournament last weekend in Snyder. However, the reunion will happen at courtside. Canyon defeated Fort Worth Trimble Tech in the Region I finals to return to the state championship and try to add another title in that school’s trophy case. Lombard will head to Austin to watch Canyon play for yet another state title.
“We ran into a team that exposed our weakness and the consequences of our injuries,” she said. Abby (Sandy) and Sydney (Bowers) did a great job for what we were asking them to do. But it took them out of their roles.”
However, senior forward Reem Bayaa went out with a great performance with 15 points (5-5 FG, 5-6 FT, nine rebounds).
The 2015-2016 season will look drastically different. Sandy and Tatum Tellin are the only returners. Help is coming in sophomore posts Jessie Prater and Molly Heygood. Each saw some varsity time.
“It was a good experience for them because they could see this level,” Lombard said. “Spring is a great time for individual player development. We need to work on a lot.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Lady Mustangs end history-making season."