The Coppell girls basketball team has returned to the court twice since falling to Plano East. The loss serves as motivation for the remainder of the season and especially tonight’s game against Flower Mound Marcus.
“Hopefully we look back at the end of the year and the Plano East game was a turning point for us,” Coppell coach Ryan Murphy said. “Throughout the year, we’ve looked at what’s hurting us and what we need to fix. We fix it for a day or two, then start going back to old habits, so we’ve really emphasized breaking those bad habits, and the girls have responded well.”
Today, Coppell hosts Marcus at 6:15 p.m., the second time the teams have played against one another this year. In their preseason, the Cowgirls defeated the Marauders by nine points. Coppell is currently situated at third in District 6-6A, Marcus tied at fifth. The Cowgirls are primarily watching out for Marcus senior point guards Kennedi Petteway and Alina Martin, and keeping the two on the perimeter by limiting their drives.
Since the Plano East victory over the Cowgirls, rather than focusing on the outcome of the game, Coppell has shifted its attention towards discipline and greater accountability among players. In practice, the Cowgirls have been implementing conditioning for each offensive rebound and turnover made in games to achieve their new focus.
Another key focus for Coppell has been boxing out on offensive rebounds. The Cowgirls have entered nearly every game this season, smaller than their opponents, so Murphy has been reminding the team to maintain good body positioning and be physical.
“If we can do all of this and play through Landry Sherrer and Ella Spiller that will put us in a good position,” Murphy said.
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