Grapevine girls basketball suffers with key players out

Grapevine girls basketball coach Lindy Lombard won’t use it as an excuse. But last week’s participation in the Mansfield Spring Creek Barbeque Invitational Tournament revealed a depleted roster.

The Lady Mustangs (6-11, 2-0 in District 6-5A) went 1-3 but were missing three important players in the tournament. Freshman post Symone Wesley, whose primary sport is volleyball, spent the week in California for a national volleyball event. Another player was missing because she was in a club soccer tournament.

But the most significant loss was senior guard Abby Sandy. Sandy missed the last two days of the tournament with a concussion. In the second game on Dec. 28 against College Park, Sandy first got caught in the nose. Later, she took an elbow to the back of the head.

Following concussion protocol, Sandy had to remain in a dark room the next day without any electronic devices, Lombard said. She was not with the team for the final two days of the tournament. More tests were needed in the first part of this week to determine if or when she would be available for this week. As for Wesley, she returned to the team for this past Saturday’s practice and will be available.

Grapevine returned to district play on Tuesday against Fort Worth Carter-Riverside. The Lady Mustangs play host to Birdville on Friday.

Even if Sandy was cleared for Carter-Riverside, it’s likely Lombard would play it conservatively and would hold her 3-point specialist out until Birdville. The Lady Mustangs were heavy favorites to beat the Lady Eagles.

However, as rough as the tournament was, the Lady Mustangs received a good tournament performance from junior forward Tatum Tellin. She averaged a double-double. That could be a good sign of things to come for the balance of the season.

“Whatever she did, she felt really comfortable,” Lombard said. “If it wasn’t the perimeter, she would use her pull-up jumper. Tatum also used her high post moves and did a really good job reading the zone.

“When she would flash to the middle she found people. She scored from everywhere. I was grading one game, she had five rebounds and four assists. Tatum did it all for us.”

The Lady Mustangs also had a strong tournament performance from freshman forward Nicole Buhr.

Colleyville Heritage update

Following a 53-39 loss to Euless Trinity this past Saturday, the Lady Panthers (16-7, 2-1 in District 6-5A) had a bye on Tuesday before moving on to playing Haltom on Friday.

With the calendar turning to district play, head coach Dianna Sager said the major difference she is seeing is how teams are guarding sophomore scoring sensation Bryn Gerlich. Instead of facing primarily man-to-man scenarios, Gerlich is likely going to see a heavy dose of double teams. She saw a lot of that against the Lady Trojans, Sager said.

“What I like about Bryn more this year than last year is that she understands that she doesn’t have to do it herself,” Sager said. “She’s surrounded by teammates who can score [Caitlyn Foster and McKinley Charles]. Bryn has added more to her game. She leads the team in taking charges and is rebounding so well.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Grapevine girls basketball suffers with key players out."