Grapevine girls hoops team lived up to expectations
If a team is going to pull an upset, it needs a good start. Lindy Lombard’s Grapevine Lady Mustangs got exactly what they wanted when they met high-powered Wichita Falls Rider in the Class 5A Region I quarterfinals on Feb. 23.
Grapevine had a 12-5 lead after the first quarter.
“Going into that game, our mindset was that we could play relaxed and with no pressure,” Lombard said. “We got off to a fantastic start. I think we surprised ourselves. But I think when it turned, we saw that if we made a mistake, we got a little rattled. Some of our kids have not faced that level of athleticism.”
It became pretty clear that Rider was the better team. The Lady Raiders outscored Grapevine, 23-4, in the second quarter and eventually ran away with a 53-34 victory at Bowie High School. Grapevine finished its season at 18-12.
But the Lombard name is still coaching basketball. Lindy’s legendary father, Joe, and Canyon knocked off Rider in the Region I championship last week and advanced to the 5A state tournament in San Antonio this week.
What made this game even more interesting was that Grapevine was out of goals to chase. Really, this program was.
With a heavy roster turnover from the 2014-2015 record-setting season, Lombard wanted to be more realistic. But she didn’t back off of this team trying to repeat as district champions as well as going undefeated. Lombard also wanted to challenge this team to return to this round. Indeed, everything on that list was checked off. The desire to win and advance never changed.
“Maybe we did not set the goals high enough,” Lombard said jokingly. “But this team played really enjoyed the moment. We just expressed to them that if they did what they wound up doing, they would have met quite an uphill battle. The level of maturity and composure they showed was great. It was a privilege to coach them.”
What’s next for 2016-2017
The Lady Mustangs will return eight from the roster of 11 players next year. What this team will have to replace is the senior leadership from several, including Abby Sandy. The four-year starter finished her career in strong fashion. She was in double figures in all three postseason games.
But this team will return the likes of Symone Wesley, Jessi Prater and Tatum Tellin. What this team expects to do is win. Lombard welcomed a middle school team that had not lost a game in two years. So when Grapevine suffered through a losing record for most of the season, Lombard noted that this group didn’t flinch and found a way to climb out of the hole.
“It was just our attitude,” Lombard said. “They just kept plugging. We had some moments, but everybody stuck with it.”
The offseason goal is to create better offensive players, Lombard said. Grapevine went through some scoring problems throughout the year.
Girls soccer update
The second half of district play in underway for both Colleyville Heritage and Grapevine. The Lady Mustangs (11-5-1, 8-1 6-5A) are in first place by one game over Lake Dallas. They have a bye on Tuesday and then play Fort Worth Carter-Riverside on Friday. They can wrap up the district championship on March 8 with a win over Birdville … Under first-year coach Monte Pace, Colleyville Heritage is running in the middle of the District 7-6A race (2-7-1, 2-3-1).
This story was originally published February 29, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "Grapevine girls hoops team lived up to expectations."