That is exactly what our Lady Panther basketball team did this season winning the district championship for the third straight season, the last two as undefeated champions.
“ It has been hard but the reason we have gotten this title is because we have sacrificed more than other high schools in the district,” Emery Haralson said.
The Lady Panthers had another historic season reaching the Elite 8 of Texas Playoffs with a 30-4 overall record. Success started early in the year at the Dallas Area Hoopfest as the girls knocked off the top team in the country Etiwanda (CA) 65-63 but it was also there they had three losses. Head Coach Taneisha Rogers says that playing those games prepared them for the rest of the season and that it helped them get to the 24-game winning streak. The team built on these huge wins and never looked back, dominating their opponents as the top ranked Houston team.
They kicked off district play with the closest game of the entire district run with a 45-35 victory over Cy Ranch but that was the closest any district opponent would get all year as the Lady Panthers beat all district opponents by at least 35 points.The Lady Panther averaged 69.4 point per district game and recorded over 70 points in six games. Highlights included ending December with a 105-21 victory over Cy Park. The team also traveled to New York in December and played on a national stage picking up two victories over South Shore and Audenried (Philadelphia).The Lady Panthers agree the experience will be a lifetime memory from seeing talent from all over the country to just bonding and taking in the sites off the court.
“ You don’t see what’s going on behind the scenes and that the team has put a lot of unseen hours of work into becoming better players and a team,” Jemini Mitchell said.
One of the things people don’t know is their hardest matchup was under the same roof as them and that would be the boys basketball team, they play them typically once a week.
“They are very aggressive and playing them helped contribute to the growth of the team,”Catelyn Le said.
Basketball isn’t a solo sport. It is a sport played well, only if you can be a team player and this was a key factor in the Lady Panther success.
According to Coach Rodgers most teams are just teammates to each other but this team isn’t one of those teams. The players actually are great friends and enjoy each other’s company and that close bond has strengthened their play.
All the Lady Panthers have stepped up and contributed throughout the season but individual highlights include Ayla McDowell being selected as an All-American,signing with the University of South Carolina and winning District MVP for the third time. McDowell was an all round team leader on offense and defense, reaching 1,000 rebounds and 2,000 points this season.
“I am a very versatile player. I love sharing the ball and getting my teammates open looks,”McDowell said,”I just love hooping and playing defense.Crossing off goals makes me happy and it is special to leave my mark at Cy Springs.”
Making up the other side of the unstoppable duo is Mitchell. Mitchell season highlights include playing Seven Lakes and hitting her 1,000 points milestone as only a sophomore.Mitchell’s teammates say she always holds them accountable for their actions even though she is the youngest on the varsity team she isn’t afraid to tell her opinions and that is one of the things the team really appreciates about her. On the court MItchell shows her versatility she can play all five spots and according to Coach Rodgers “She is a beast.She has not even tapped into her full potential yet and she does not know how good she is going to be.”
Mitchell and McDowell pushed each other and swamped the team scoring record back and forth this season. McDowell averaged 25.1 points a game while Mitchell averaged 22.1 points and both had several double double games.The duo lead the team in all categories except steals this season with Tamiah Harrison as the steal leader. Harrison set the school record for steals in a game with 14 against Waller. Melanie Hodges was also a key contributor in points and rebounds.She reached the 500 rebounds mark against Langham Creek.
Round one of the playoffs was an easy 83-35 win for the Lady Panthers with McDowell, Mitchell and Hodges having double doubles.The team continued to be unstoppable in round two for a 73-28 win with McDowell scoring 28, pulling down 10 boards and Mitchell scoring 14. The team’s offense remained on fire and defense shined in their third round defeat of Desoto 78-27. McDowell had 27 points, 14 rebounds while Mitchell had 31 points and 10 rebounds and Harrison had seven steals in the blowout.
The Lady Panthers left it all on the floor in round four with the game coming down to the last minute but fell just short against Lancaster,54-58. The Lady Panthers trailed by only one point after both the first and second quarters in a close battle. Headed into the fourth quarter they trailed by seven but they never gave up outscoring.Lancaster by five points for the quarter. McDowell and Mitchell closed out the season the way they played all season with double double performances
“ We did not reach 3125 but this group has earned every bit of recognition and praise. This team gave everything, fought hard, believed in each other and made history.The journey did not end how we wanted but the legacy is set. People know who we are now,” Coach Rodgers said.
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