By Seth Slover
Staff Writer
One of the most daunting tasks for a teams is to make up ground in order to catch up in the standings. Currently with a record of 5-9, the Cowgirls basketball team is looking to get things going in district play.
“We played a bunch of really good teams in non-district play,” junior forward Kara Williamson said. “We have a losing record right now, but it’s our district record that matters.”
The goal for this Cowgirl team is to qualify for playoffs. In coach Nicole Collins’ first season at Coppell, she hopes to build a program at CHS. The first step toward building that program, Collins says, is making the playoffs.
“It takes time to build a good program,” Collins said. “But we’re really young and the majority of our team is underclassmen, so we’re definitely heading in a great direction.”
When asked the keys to the team’s continual improvement, Collins cited point guard play.
“As a former point guard myself, I know that the point guard position is extremely important to a team,” Collins said. “It’s like the quarterback in football, you have to have a poised player at that position. Our point guard, Carina Zhao is only a sophomore and has been improving a whole lot. I’m very encouraged from what I’ve seen out of the point guard position. As far as our point guard goes, our team will go.”
Currently fifth in District 7-5A, the Cowgirls need to have one of the top four records in district play. In order to do so, the team’s defense must remain consistent. The offensive side of the ball is the area with the most room for improvement.
“Our defense has been pretty solid against most teams we’ve played,” Williamson said. “We are looking to get better offensively. I think a big part of that will probably be cutting back on the number of turnovers we are having.”
One of the most important aspects of the game is practice. As everyone who has found sporting success knows, practice makes perfect.
“There’s the old saying ‘you play the way you practice’; and it’s true,” Collins said. “We need our practices to be at game speed. Consistency is developed in practice and consistency is crucial.”
In order to catch up to the four teams currently ahead of them in the district standings, Coppell will continue to get better. Even during crushing losses, it is evident that this Coppell team is showing signs of being a more dangerous team.
“After watching the Saginaw game that opened district, I would say that we opened things up pretty positively,” assistant coach Cassandra Winkle said. “There’s good hope for continued development as the season goes on.”
Collins wholly agrees.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the direction we’re heading,” Collins said. “We’re pulling together as a team and starting to hold each other accountable. We’re starting to show characteristics of a Coppell Cowgirl basketball.”
With so much young talent, so many new varsity contributors, and a motivated young coach, there is a great deal of optimism to be had both for the remainder of this season, as well as those to come.
