Lady Dragons try to regroup as GCISD teams heat up

At this point of the season for local girls basketball teams, Southlake Carroll has the concern, Grapevine is building the confidence and Colleyville Heritage has the look of a team ready for the playoffs.

Carroll (6-9, 0-3 District 5-6A): Probably the best way to describe this season for the Carroll girls basketball team is that this is a transition year.

A program that has celebrated district championships and deep runs in the postseason is experiencing something far different. Every game presents a challenge. And head coach Teri Morrison recognizes this is the time where her team cannot let its confidence erode.

Following a 51-31 loss to Flower Mound Marcus, the Lady Dragons were already looking up at the district standings. They couldn’t avoid the rare winless start when they lost to Lewisville on Friday, 44-35. A deep hole in the district standings could make contending for a postseason berth a steep challenge.

Securing the ball continues to be the focal point of this team’s frustrations. Consider that through its first 14 games, the Lady Dragons are in the wrong 2-to-1 ratio. Instead of that being assists to turnovers, Carroll has committed almost twice as many miscues to assists.

That summed up the loss to Marcus. The Lady Marauders scored 19 points off Carroll turnovers. The Lady Dragons scored only six off Marcus turnovers.

“We just have to keep continuing in practice and just work to keep their confidence,” Morrison said. “I know it’s a growth situation. Our confidence is a little shaken. We just have to improve upon our team trust. We have great kids. We just have to keep looking ahead at the next play and nothing beyond that.”

The best thing about this week is that this team is out of town playing in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix. The 64-team field features seven different brackets. When it returns from the desert, the squad will only practice during the holiday break.

“I do believe the lightbulb will come on,” Morrison said. “They want to get better. I believe we’re going to sneak up on somebody.”

Grapevine (6-6, 2-0 District 8-5A): Maybe the unmerciful non-district season is paying off for Lindy Slagle’s program.

Following last Friday’s 47-39 victory over Birdville, the Lady Mustangs had won four of their last five, including double digit decisions over Coppell and Fort Worth Eastern Hills.

“From the first day, we talked about the three seasons,” Slagle said. “You’re in your non-district schedule, and we knew then there weren’t any nights off. When you’re in the district schedule, that’s where it really counts. So you can’t get too up or down. I’m proud of the way we’ve come out of our slow start.”

As for Slagle, she’s still on target for the birth of her son on Monday. If he comes sooner, that would have been even better. She said her doctor has allowed her to return to the program on a part-time basis starting Jan. 3, when district play resumes against Fort Worth Dunbar.

“We’ll just have to be smart about it,” Slagle said.

Grapevine finished its December district swing Tuesday against Fort Worth Polytechnic.

Colleyville Heritage (12-4, 2-0 District 8-5A): The Lady Panthers were so dominant in their 84-5 win Dec. 13 over Fort Worth Carter-Riverside that they led 58-0 at the half. Both benches agreed to play with a running clock in the second half.

Colleyville Heritage beat up on Richland, 71-22, this past Tuesday before playing Fort Worth Dunbar on Tuesday.

This story was originally published December 20, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Lady Dragons try to regroup as GCISD teams heat up."