Lady Dragons take title in San Diego tourney

Carroll’s resumption of the “normal” part of its season began Tuesday with a Distict 7-6A game against rival Coppell. Normal is the operative word because the Lady Dragons experienced something far different last week in San Diego at the Surf N Slam Holiday Classic.

The Lady Dragons (15-6, 2-0 in District 7-6A) won the tournament but ran into some different officiating and different game rules. For one, the tournament came with women’s college rules, including a 30-second shot clock being used.

Coach Teri Morrison wasn’t complaining, but she noticed that the game officials let the physical game go a little more. Carroll beat a team from Washington in the championship game on New Year’s Eve, 56-53. Tournament MVP Kennedy Leonard delivered the game-winning three-pointer. Priscilla Smeenge also was named to the all-tournament team.

“It was a little more physical than what you’re used to,” Morrison said. “The Texas officiating is a little tighter. There was some scrumming going on. But overall, it was a great experience for the girls because we saw some different basketball and had to adjust.

“We also did a pretty good job with the shot clock. We only got called for a shot-clock violation once and that was because we thought they had re-set the clock on a play. But with our up-tempo style, it really wasn’t a problem.”

The break provided the results Morrison wanted. Carroll played every other day and then drew a bye this past Saturday from district play. So the team had six days between games. Plus, this team already faced some pretty stiff competition in the non-district season.

“We’re pretty excited to get three wins and not play five games in three days,” Morrison said. “This was a bonding experience for us. And that’s why I like taking these trips out of the state.”

Injury update

Senior forward Juls Grubbs decided discretion was the better part of valor. Sidelined with a torn ACL since mid-November, Grubbs decided against trying to gut out the season on the court and had surgery last week to repair the torn ligament.

“Just seeing her go through the pain and trying to do something that was really hard led to her making a good decision,” Morrison said. “I know she did everything she could to give this a try. But the great thing is that we still have the emotional and mental leadership from her. That will mean something as we continue to go through the season.”

Senior post Madison Drescher continues to work her way back from a severely sprained ankle. She is at about 50 percent and has played limited minutes in each of the five games she has appeared in. Drescher managed to move pretty well against some pretty decent posts at the tournament in San Diego, Morrison said.

“I just liked that she found a way to hang in there and get some good rebounds for us,” Morrison said. “That was important. She also had some time to rest up before the district season started.”

Leonard on a roll

Senior point guard Leonard is positioning herself into all-state status. She’s averaging 15.5 points and shooting 40 percent from three-point range and 49 percent for the season. It’s a maturity of her game that Morrison has seen take incredible steps this year.

“She’s in a really good spot,” Morrison said. “Whether it’s one on one or if it’s on the outside, she done so many great things out there. It’s as impressive roll I’ve seen from one player in a long time.”

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 3:27 PM with the headline "Lady Dragons take title in San Diego tourney."