Lady Panthers pick up the pace with four-win week

This past weekend’s performance at the Katy Tournament gave Colleyville Heritage girls basketball coach Dianna Sager enough evidence that her young team is making progress.

With major turnover in her roster going into 2014-2015, she recognized that this season could start slow.

It did.

Colleyville Heritage was 3-5 going into the tournament and coming off a 45-39 loss to GCISD rival Grapevine. But the Lady Panthers went 4-1 to move to 7-6 as the week began. Freshman guard Bryn Gerlich was named to the all-tournament team.

“If we had played against Grapevine like we did in the tournament, we probably could have won,” Sager said. “The teams we faced in Katy were physical and run and gun. We lost our opener by three points [to Houston St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church] but the way we responded was really important.”

Senior post Zhanae Whitney is coming off a pretty solid tournament performance where she averaged more than nine rebounds in the five games. Plus, junior forward Seairra Ford has been moved to the block where she can be a more effective scorer.

“I know they turned a corner,” Sager said. “They know what they had to do. They were incredible with the things that they have done. So I think they understand where they are and what they have to do moving forward.”

Colleyville Heritage played at Arlington Bowie on Tuesday and is scheduled to play host to Arlington Sam Houston at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

Collyer returns

After missing the first three weeks for undisclosed reasons, senior post Charlotte Collyer returned to the program last week and played against Grapevine and in the Katy tournament. While there was some rust early, Collyer does offer a second quality scorer to work next to Gerlich. Collyer had been practicing with the team throughout her absence.

“Having her back means we get another 6-1 player back on the floor and someone who understands offer pretty well,” Sager said. “She just offers a different dimension for us. And we really need that.”

Grapevine update

Confidence early in the season can be the catalyst to a great season. That’s what Grapevine first-year coach Lindy Lombard is hoping for out of her squad’s 12-2 start.

Grapevine enjoyed one of its better weeks in recent years when it knocked off rival Colleyville Heritage, 45-39, on Dec. 2 and then won the Burleson tournament this past weekend.

Senior point guard Mandi Routon and sophomore guard Tatum Tellin were named to the all-tournament team. Grapevine’s tournament run featured a double overtime win over Class 6A Midland.

While the record is extraordinary, Lombard wants this team to play to a standard. She said the execution and shooting weren’t the best. But she really liked the defense.

“The effort was right where we always want it to be,” Lombard said. “We got some big stops on defense. These were not pretty wins, but we found a way to get them done. The girls took care of business.”

As for Tellin, look for her to draw the toughest defensive assignment each game. Lombard likes the tenacity Tatum brings to that side of the floor. Holding Colleyville Heritage’s Gerlich to 18 points may not sound like much. But considering Gerlich had been scoring 20-plus points in several games, that was a victory.

Grapevine plays a Class 6A schedule this week. The Lady Mustangs played host to Coppell on Tuesday and play at Richland on Friday.

This story was originally published December 8, 2014 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Lady Panthers pick up the pace with four-win week."