Question of the Week #5

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Where will Sam being going to school and playing collegiate basketball???

Sam is officially a Trinity University TIGER!!!

CONGRATS Sam on your outstanding accomplishment! We cannot wait to see you play again next year!

Did you know??
Trinity Ranked in the Top 10
The Tiger women's basketball team has been ranked in the top 10 in the WBCA poll

Skyline

We did well at the beginning of the game and the girls executed our game plan perfectly. After the first quarter the final score was 13-16 Skyline. We did not close the quarter well, but the girls were tied up 13-13 seconds before the quarter was over.

From there, it was a tough game and did not go the way we planned. Skyline is a highly skilled, savvy, athletic, strong, and heavily loaded senior team. We lost the second quarter 14-25 and were down by 14 at half time.

The main thing I noticed was that we were not able to sub without a drop off. I know it is hard to come off the bench into a war like we have with Skyline, but we have to do a better job of it. There were NUMEROUS turnovers when we began subbing. I do not know if the girls just could not get jump started and get going in the game quick enough, if the starters had to do too much, or if the starters got out of rhythm because they were subbed, but I believe it was a combination of many things... including Skyline get frazzled with the score and began playing explosive defense.

We have got to have four strong quarters and go hard from the time the whistle sounds until the buzzer ends the game. I know I have said this before, but we have not seen this at all this year really. When we got four of our five starters in foul trouble and they had to sit the 3rd quarter or parts of it; it killed us. Skyline is a struggle for our veterans, but it was overwhelming for our newbies. They got inside the paint well, scored easily, and created havoc on defense forcing turnovers left and right. We only scored a measly 4 points in the 3rd quarter and that killed us!
In the 4th they outscored us 18-11.

Notable Stats:
Bridget O'Brien - 10 points, 2 assists, 3 steals
Harlie Greer - 10 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal
Kosi Ekwu - 8 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Hannah Wedding - 7 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal
Tierra Scott - 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist

Molina Game

The girls came out and played well as a team against Molina. Molina has improved this year and even though they are at the bottom of our district; I can see their development in a short period of time.

Our girls played well and played team ball for four quarters. We wanted to put the Creekview loss behind us and take care of the basketball, knock down our shots, run our offenses, block out, and get in good defensive position as a team... and the girls did just that.

First, it was the Jessi Youman show. I was extremely proud of Jessi. She not only scored double digits (something I need her or others to do on our team every game); she also made 3 of 4 three pointers and played her best game of the season.

Second, all the girls played hard and we subbed a little bit differently than we did the first time we played them, and I believe the girls found a rhythm better because of the way we were subbing.

We won 68-14.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 14 points, 8 rebounds!, 5 steals!!, 1 assist, 1 block
Hannah Wedding - 11 points, 10 rebounds!!, 6 steals!!, 1 assist, 1 block
Jessi Youman - 11 points, 75% from 3 pt line, 2 steals, 2 assists, 1 rebound
Kosi Ekwu - 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Bridget O'Brien - 7 points, 2 steals, 3 assists, 1 rebound, 1 of 1 FT = 100%
Katie Spurgin - 6 points, 2 of 2 FT = 100%, 4 rebounds, 1 block

Creekview Game - Round 2

Creekview came out and played extremely hard the entire game. I was very impressed with their team play, determination and drive. We got down early and were in shock with their thunderous start, but got on track in the second half. However, it was too little too late. We had to foul to try to get the ball back and they did a great job on the free throw line. We closed it within 6, 8, and 10 twice, but could never get over the hump and close in on the win.

After the half I was very impressed with our team effort. Hannah Wedding started the run and took the team on her shoulders, and then I saw outstanding effort from the whole team. Bridget and Kosi really stepped up for us when we were fighting to come back offensively and defensively. But, we have to have four strong quarters... not two.

So, we beat them on their court and they didn't like it and came back to our place and beat us on our home floor. We split with them and our goal is to split with Skyline, Berkner and Richardson in our upcoming games.

Score By Quarters:
LH 8 3 12 19 42
C 20 5 11 19 55

Notable Stats:
Hannah Wedding - 15 points, 4 steals!, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Tierra Scott - 10 points, 5 steals!!, 2 assists
Kosi Ekwu - 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Bridget O'Brien - 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Question of the Week #4

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: How are we sitting after the first district games? Who has beaten who? How do you feel about playing everyone again? How many games do we have to win to go to the playoffs?

COACH MULLIGAN'S ANSWER: First, that is technically four questions. : ) However, there were about four weeks around Christmas that I didn't get a question, so I will answer all of them. Plus, I really like these type of questions and I get them every year.

After the first round of play the district is as follows:
1st - Skyline 7-0
2nd - Richardson 6-1 (lost to Skyline)
3rd - Lake Highlands 4-3 (lost to Skyline, Richardson, Berkner)
3rd - Berkner 4-3 (lost to Skyline, Richardson, Creekview)
3rd - Creekview 4-3 (lost to Skyline, Richardson, Lake Highlands)
6th - Sunset 2-5 (lost to the preceding five)
7th - W.T. White 1-6 (lost to the preceding six)
8th - Molina 0-7

I feel great about playing everyone again because the first round was technically harder than the second round for us because we had a lot of away games. We play Skyline, Berkner, and Creekview at home. I am very pleased about this. I think the girls will dominate on their home floor, and I think we will be ready to play at home. I am hoping that all our fans show up for our last home games and we have good fan support to lead us onto victory. We have had VERY few home games this year because of scheduling issues, and we want the girls to get confidence on their home floor and have more home games for their community. In fact, we play Creekview at home on Tuesday to start the second round and it is a huge game for us as we are in a three way tie for third right now with them and Berkner. We really need to win and we need everyone in Lake Highlands there cheering us on to victory!

I do not know how many games we "have" to win to go to the playoffs. I try to just go game by game and hope we have enough wins at the end to get in! I believe everyone will beat everyone in this district and I hope we take care of business on our end. I hope to beat Creekview, Berkner, and Richardson this round and of course Sunset, WT White and Molina as well. If we could go at least 6-1 and maybe knock off Skyline at home and go 7-0; that would be great!!

I do think we need to beat Sunset, WT White and Molina for sure and knock off at least two of the four to get in to the playoffs out of Skyline, Richardson, Creekview and Berkner. But, as they say, "you never know who will win, until you play the game." So, we will see who beats who and how many we "have" to win as the second round progresses.

GO CATS!

W.T. White

The girls finished the first round of district on a great note as they defeated the Longhorns 48-23. We won the first quarter 15-2, the second quarter 12-3, and went into halftime up 27-5 . We lost the 3rd quarter 11-12 and won the 4th quarter 10-6.

Our leading scorer was off tonight shooting wise and Bridget O'Brien stepped up and filled those shoes for us perfectly. Bridget has promised me recently that she would become an offensive threat and "get her shot back"; however, I did not expect her to answer in the way that she did. She played great and went from scoring 3 points against Richardson to 12 tonight. She also pushed the ball down the floor and got our offensive tempo set. Her FG% was a measly 14% against Richardson and she came out and made a statement as she shot the ball well and redeemed her FG% with 42%.

Tierra Scott has been challenging the team all year to help her out and be an offensive and defensive threat, so she did not "have to do everything"; well, Bridget responded loud and clear as she lead the team in scoring offensively and did an outstanding job on defense as well.

I am also proud of the way Kosi took care of business on the free throw line. We have not been shooting well in a game on the free throw line. Our girls make so many free throws in practice, but in a game, under pressure; we were missing our shots. Kosi did a great job and led as a senior as as hit 6 of 7. She scored in double digits because of her free throw shooting, and we need double digits from Kosi in every game the second round.

I think we are right where we need to be as a team headed into the second round.

Notable Stats:
Bridget O'Brien - 12 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 steals!!
Kosi Ekwu - 10 points, 6 of 7 free throws, 6 rebounds, 1 steal
Hannah Wedding - 7 points, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Harlie Greer - 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Tierra Scott - 4 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 6 steals!!!
Katie Spurgin - 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal

Richardson Game

We had a devastating week as we lost to both Berkner and Richardson. I believe we should have won both games and could have easily if we could take care of the basketball and make good decisions as a team. We are rushing our passes, rushing our offenses, or trying to do too much and it is resulting in losses. The girls are working hard to correct these mistakes, but it is hard to beat anyone, especially good defensive teams that hustle, if you do not take care of the basketball.

The girls came out strong and looked great the first quarter and won 12-10. We dropped off in the second quarter and lost 8-15. We tried to come out strong the 3rd quarter and get back in the game, but we lost 4-9. We lost the 4th quarter 7-13 after having to foul the last few possessions to try to get the ball back.

We fouled purposely and tried to get the ball back for 6 of their free throws, but the other ones we were not trying to foul. They shot 39 total free throws!!!! (to our 16) It was completely unbalanced and we will not beat anyone if we let them shoot almost 40 free shots in one game. If we were able to shoot 39; I believe we would have won. You cannot put a team on the free throw line that many times.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Hannah Wedding - 7 points, 60% FG shooting!!, 6 rebounds, 1 assist
Harlie Greer - 5 points, 3 rebounds

Besides these three; I didn't feel our team came ready to play and we did not play the way we should on our home floor.

I think we will come out strong against W.T. White and play well as a team.

Berkner Game

The Lady Wildcats lost a heartbreaker to Berkner 39-40. I know Berkner got the win, but they did not beat us; we definitely beat ourselves. We were off as a team shooting wise and taking care of the ball. Players who are usually strong scorers were off and we just could not shoot out of the slump.

The player who was on and shooting well was Tierra Scott. She made 6 of 8 field goals, and was our leading scorer with 12 points. However, Tierra only played a little less than two quarters total because of foul trouble. She got two fouls in the first quarter and then her third and fourth were almost back to back. Tierra does not come off the floor at all really for our team. She has amazing defense and has stayed out of foul trouble all year. However, she got in it quick and stayed in it. She was playing well and shooting well, but we played half a game without her. The pressure to fill her shoes, as well as Sam's shoes blew the minds of the rest of our team.

Sharp shooters, fellow captains, and leaders fell under pressure and it affected their shooting and their turnovers. Hannah Wedding did a great job rebounding and assisting her teammates. She had 7 rebounds and 6 assists. However, she went 4 of 15 shooting field goals and 0 of 2 from the 3 pt. line. She also struggled on the free throw line where she missed 5 of 8 free throws. She is a great shooter and the pressure and wanting to win so bad; just got to her. She still had 11 points, but she could have easily made 20 or 30 points. Bridget O'Brien also struggled while missing all her shots. However, she did not shoot the ball many times.

Kosi Ekwu had her best game this year and dominated at the post position. She had 9 points and 18 rebounds!!!! (The most she has had in both stats all year) However, she missed 5 free throws as did Hannah and missed her last free throw with 1.2 seconds on the clock. She was down because we lost by one point; however, it was not this single free throw that lost the game for us. We lost because of our missed shots and not taking care of the basketball. We had WAY too many turnovers as a team.

Just between the posts alone; we missed 12 free throws. We could have easily won by 20. They made their free throws in the final minutes and we missed ours. It cannot happen in our district. The teams are too competitive and can finish.

We will focus on our shooting and taking care of the ball this week in practice. We are now tied in district with Berkner 3-2. We play Richardson on Friday.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 12 points, 3 steals
Hannah Wedding - 11 points, 6 assists!!!, 7 rebounds
Kosi Ekwu - 9 points, 18 rebounds!!!!!, 2 blocks

Question of the Week #3

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: How bad is Sam injured from the Skyline game? When will she be back?

COACH MULLIGAN'S ANSWER: Sam did retear her ACL and meniscus. She had surgery on Dec. 31st and it went well. She will only be a coach and leader from the sidelines this year for us; however, she does plan on playing in college. She has numerous offers on the table at this time. She is leaning towards one, but I will let you ask her which one. : )

Duncanville Tournament

We entered the Duncanville Tournament again this year to play with the big dogs. This tournament is truly the best teams in the state, and I believe it has some of the best teams in the nation in it as well. Every single team is outstanding and every game is great. Although we did not walk away with a win this year; it is a great experience for the girls to see great play, face great competition, and go head to head with Division 1 players.

Our first game we played Frisco High School, a team known for their talent, great play, and outstanding athletes. The team has a lot of seniors this year and they all play hard and want to win. Tony Dorsett's daughter is finally a senior. She signed with Texas Tech. She scored 21 of the teams 75 against us. Moore signed with Texas and had 12 against us. I know that other seniors have signed, but I am unsure of where they are going. Regardless, my team saw an outstanding team with Division 1 players and it was the best preparation for district games to come.

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 14 points, 4 steals, 2 assists
Mary Potter - 8 points, shot 100% including 2 of 2 three pointers

The second game we faced Colleyville Heritage. They are also an outstanding team who played in the Regional Quarter Finals last year. I personally enjoyed watching their point guard play, as did our girls. She is a true point guard and sees the floor well and knows how to run the offense, run the team, and make her team go. We do not have a true point guard and we have put a lot of girls in the position, but they have trouble understanding exactly what we want. The girls saw an excellent example in the point guard play of Standish. She had 21 points against us, numerous assists, and shot 100% from the free throw line and got to the line from her great drives.

Score by Quarters:
LH 9 12 13 15 49
CH 18 16 15 19 68

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 16 points, 3 steals
Hannah Wedding - 13 points, 3 assists
Mary Potter - 5 points
DJ Sandidge - 6 rebounds, 2 steals

Our final game was against a private school, Presbyterian Christian. They are a polished school who is fundamentally sound. Their team works hard on defense and tries to out work their competition. That is exactly what they did against us. They just went hard all four quarters and finished as a team. We started slow and sluggish. We picked up the pace, but it was too little too late. Their strong 1st quarter haunted us the rest of the game.

Score by Quarters:
LH 8 13 5 11 37
PC 17 13 8 9 47

Notable Stats:
Tierra Scott - 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Hannah Wedding - 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal
Kosi Ekwu - 4 points, 3 blocks, 1 steal
DJ Sandidge - 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist

We went home after our loss on Tuesday and practiced on everything we needed to go over and correct while it was fresh on our minds. The five day break was evident when we played and we needed to review positioning and our defensive team unit more than anything. We also focused on post play working together and guards taking care of the ball. We had too many turnovers and were not seeing the defense. I think we have corrected our mistakes and are ready for district play to resume soon.

We will face Berkner on Tuesday and Richardson on Friday. It is a big week for us!

Sunset Game - 3-1 in district!

The Lady Wildcats improved their district record to 3-1 on Tuesday against Dallas Sunset. The Cats started off slow as they had exhausted themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally in the Skyline game days before. After half time adjustments including defensive rotations mostly and positioning; they picked up the pace and won 69-37 after a strong 3rd quarter performance.

Game By Quarters:
LH 9 19 27 14 69
S 8 9 8 12 37

Notable Stats:
Hannah Wedding - 17 points, 2 of 2 free throws = 100%, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block, 1 assist
Kosi Ekwu - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals
Tierra Scott - 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist
Bridget O'Brien - 8 points, 5 steals!!!, 5 assists!!
Katie Spurgin - 8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block
Jessi Youman - 8 points

Skyline Game

The Lady Wildcats ventured over to Forester Fieldhouse to take on the reigning district champions. Skyline defeated the Lady Cats 69-47; however, the score does not reflect how great of a game it was. The Lady Wildcats played well as a team. Freshman Harlie Greer sparked the team on the press with her defense and then scored well in the paint on offense. Harlie always plays better against great teams and rises to the occasion. Skyline was not worried about the team because they knew one person could not defeat their senior loaded team. They won the first quarter 21-12.

However, the Lady Cats followed Harlie's lead and began playing hard as a team and leaving it all on the floor. Tierra Scott harassed the team with her defense. Sam Couch broke their press with the help of teammates. Bridget O'Brien pushed the ball and set the tempo. Skyline didn't realize how bad that the Lady Cats wanted to defeat them and be district champs this year, and not runner-ups. Lake Highlands won the second quarter 13-9.

In the second half Sam Couch rotated out of a sideline trap and hurt her knee. She was helped off the floor and it took the wind out of the team to see their senior leader go down for the second time this year. The Lady Cats went in at half time down 25-30. It was definitely a game!

The third quarter Skyline came out and made a few adjustments. Barret came out strong for Skyline and led their team with six 3rd quarter points. Skyline won the third quarter 18-10. The Lady Wildcats were still going strong, but were growing tired from pressing the whole game and having a thinner/younger bench than Skyline.

In the 4th quarter Skyline sealed the deal as they rotated in and out fresh legs constantly and defeated LH 21-12.

I was not pleased with how many points we gave up the 1st and 4th quarters. But, I am extremely proud of the effort from our team, the team play, the defensive stops and hard work. If we would have played this hard all year as a team; our record would almost be perfect. We just have to start strong and finish strong.

Notable Stats:
Harlie Greer - 11 points, 3 of 3 free throws = 100%, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
Hannah Wedding - 9 points
Tierra Scott - 8 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Bridget O'Brien - 8 points, 2 assists, 2 steals
Kosi Ekwu - 6 rebounds, 3 blocks

Question of the Week #2

QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What is the most enjoyable thing about coaching? What is the most frustrating thing about coaching?

COACH MULLIGAN'S ANSWER: I like this two part question. First, the most enjoyable thing about coaching for me is seeing my athletes succeed. It is the best feeling in the world to see them accomplish something in a game or practice that you are teaching. When they get it right in a game; it is such a great feeling. You are so proud of them and I love to see them try to hold back a grin. It is just like being a parent and seeing your child excel in something. You are just so thrilled for them and proud. The most frustrating thing about coaching is when you work on something in practice and focus on it in practice, and the hard work is not transferred to the game. When you dedicate time and energy to a particular part of the game and then the team does the exact opposite in the game... as a coach; it is very frustrating. But, that is why we go over and over everything we do and drill fundamentals.