With two preseason wins, the Coppell girls basketball team plays Highland Park at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Coppell High School Large Gym.

“Highland Park’s a really fast-paced team, they’re really solid,” Coppell junior guard Jules Lamendola said. “We’re expecting they’re going to run out and get a lot of shots up. We’re going to have to work on transition defense and being able to keep them off the perimeter.”

The Cowgirls’ aggression will be their foremost asset against last year’s Class 5A Region II area champions.

“We’re aggressive and able to outwork the other teams, ” Lamendola said. “We’re really physically strong this year. We spend a lot of time in the weightroom. Sometimes we struggle with our execution but we’re working on that and it’s getting better.”

According to Coppell coach Ryan Murphy, two starters will be out on Friday. Lamendola, however, anticipates Coppell to remain secure as long as the Cowgirls are disciplined.

“As long as we keep doing what we’re doing and stay on track, we’ll be fine,” Lamendola said.

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