Question of the Week #1 - 2009

Question of the Week: When will Hannah and Kosi be back?

Coach Mulligan's Answer: We are expecting both players to be back soon. We are hoping that both players join us mid December. Hannah may be out until late Decemeber. But, we are hoping she is released before then. We should have both of them for most of district.

Allen Tournament

The Allen Tournament is always a great tournament with outstanding play, and it consists of what I consider the best teams in the state. We enjoy this tournament every year. This year we finished 1-2. We are having a difficult time right now with so many kids out and it has definitely affected our team and our record. We played The Colony in our first game, Frisco Centennial in the second game, and A&M Consolidated in the third.

All three teams were athletic and good competition. We started with the Colony. They had a deep bench and were great in their press. We needed to see a great press and work on breaking it and that was definitely what we got. We realized that the guards have to focus on getting open and working together to break the press.

We also have to be able to shoot under pressure. The girls missed numerous shots and were capable of scoring 143 total points and we finished with 23. So, we need to create more game like situations in practice with pressure to overcome our low shooting percentage in these intense situations.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
Bridget O'Brien - 9 points, 5 rebounds
Harlie Greer - 9 rebounds

The second game we played Frisco Centennial who also had a very deep bench compared to our 7. They are a great team that is well coached and were Area Champions last year. They are in a rebuilding year as well after graduating a large senior class like we did. The girls pulled off a great win 40-37 as they had to stall, make free throws, and had to rely on each other to finish. They grew up in one game because of all the scenarios they were placed in, and this is exactly what we need to see as a team before district.

What the coaches were most proud of was our finish. We held them to only 3 points in the fourth quarter. The girls had numerous defensive stops to seal the deal. We needed this win as a team and the girls wanted it!

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 12 points, 5 rebounds
Jessi Youman - 10 points
Harlie Greer - 6 points, 8 rebounds

The final game was against A&M Consolidated. They just signed one of their huge post players to Texas A&M and she led all scorers with 17 points. We are struggling at the post position right now because all our true posts are out besides freshman Harlie Greer. We have guards we are throwing down there to play post, but it is hard to play a team with two great posts when we are guard heavy.

We could not buy a basket. It was similar to our game against the Colony. We could not make anything from a lay-up to a free throw. We had shots, but were not knocking them down. We were capable of scoring 115 points and finished with 17 points. We want to improve on shot selection, shooting, and offensive possessions.

They pressed three and half full quarters, and we were able to see a strong press again and work on breaking it. Every team we competed with in the Allen Tournament prepared us in some way or multiple ways for district.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 1o points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals
Harlie Greer - 14 rebounds, 3 points

Back in Action!

Your Lady Wildcats are back in action this year!!

Well sort of... we have a lot of Lady Cats out right now for different reasons; however, it is helping our new Varsity letterman and younger players develop and they have been put in intense Varsity game type situations every game.

We started off the season against Princeton. They are a great team that is always very competitive. They have a hard working disciplined team. The Lady Wildcats fell to Princeton 41-42. It was a heart breaker. But, the girls gained valuable experience at the end of game in intense situations.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 7 steals
Bridget O'Brien - 10 points, 6 rebounds
Sam Couch - 10 points, 2 of 2 FT 100%
DJ Sandidge - 6 points, 10 rebounds

The thing we wanted to focus on the most after the Princeton game was taking care of the ball and getting our number of turnovers down. We had numerous 5 second calls and turnovers. We looked rusty and nervous and Sam was playing for the first time since her ACL repair. It was hard on her because the guards were not getting open well. We focused on guards getting open and moving without the ball in their hands.

We faced Plano in our second game. We lost 55-70. However, we played very well for three quarters of basketball and especially the fourth quarter. However, it was too little too late. We were scared to death as a team to play our first home Varsity game on our floor. The nerves sent the ball flying anywhere but the hoop. We lost the first quarter 8-23!

But, the best thing about our team is the way we persevere and never give up. We came back and pushed ourselves to get back in the game. We won the second quarter 16-9. Lost the 3rd quarter 16-19 and lost the 4th quarter 15-19 after having to foul at the end to get the ball back. We had three good quarters of basketball, but you have to have four good quarters of ball to compete against the best teams in the state.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 14 points, 8 rebounds
Sam Couch - 11 points, 3 three pointers
Katie Spurgin - 8 points, 3 steals
Bridget O'Brien - 6 points, 4 steals

We were excited that the girls took care of the ball a lot better against Plano and had 11 turnovers as a team. However, we tried to focus on rebounding and blocking out and keeping possession of the ball. We let them have too many possessions and second shot attempts. We tried to focus on keeping the ball in our hands as much as possible.