Over the next few posts, we’ll try to give you a quick preview of the schools that have advanced to the 2010 UIL Girls Basketball State Championships coming up Thursday, March 4 through Saturday, March 6.
Our first look is at Class 1A Division I.
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REGION I: Smyer
(Panhandle, approximately 18 miles west of Lubbock on Hwy 114)
The Smyer Lady Cats (34-3) make their first appearance in the state tournament after winning District 6-1A this season. Smyer defeated defending state champs Sudan last Saturday in the Region I championship, 45-43, to earn the berth.
Led by 6’0” sophomore Haley Fowler, the Lady Cats have averaged 62.6 points per game this season and posted scores of at least 80 points in four different games.
REGION II: Muenster
(North Texas, approximately 16 miles west of Gainesville on US Hwy 82; approximately 49 miles northwest of Denton)
The Muenster Lady Hornets, winners of District 10-1A, bring a 29-6 record to the tournament and are riding a 21-game winning streak. With six seniors, they also can claim the title of most-experienced team in the 1A-I field. They make their fourth tournament appearance in school history, and first since the 2004-05 season.
Led by seniors Lia Heers and Shaina Felderhoff and junior post player Taylor Klement, Muenster won their four regional playoff games by an average margin of 11.3 points per game.
REGION III: Martin’s Mill
(Northeast Texas, approximately 31 miles west of Tyler and 12 miles south-southeast of Canton)
Winners of District 18-1A, the Lady Mustangs (32-4) are making their sixth tournament appearance and their fifth consecutive appearance. They will be looking for their third Class 1A Division I state championship in five years.
Martin’s Mill won state championships in 2006 and 2008. With that recent history, some observers have the Lady Mustangs as the team to beat in Austin this weekend.
However, this is a young team, with four freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors and one senior. Juniors Emily Williams (17 points per game) and Joanna Daniel (16 ppg) lead the way on the floor, but two freshmen—Taylor Munns (G, 5’7”) and Meagan Weatherford (C, 5’11”)—have also made big contributions.
REGION IV: Louise
(Southeast Texas, approximately 85 miles southwest of Houston and 12 miles southwest of El Campo on US Hwy 59)
The remaining 1A-I school with closest proximity to Houston and the only remaining school from south of Waco, the Louise Lady Hornets bring the lowest win percentage to the tournament, but their 26-6 record may be deceptive. All six losses were to larger schools in higher classifications (Orange Grove, 3A; West Columbia, 3A; Goliad, 3A; Hempstead, 2A; Hitchcock, 2A; Shiner St. Paul, TAPPS-2A).
In those losses, the average margin of defeat was only 7.7 points. Because of that, head coach Bryan Branch may have the sleeper of the tournament.
Louise, champion of District 28-1A, is making its first appearance in the state tournament in school history.
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The state semifinal games get underway on Thursday morning. Smyer, the top seed, takes on Louise in the first semifinal at 8:30 AM and Martin’s Mill faces off against Muenster at 10:00 AM.
All games take place at the Frank Erwin Special Events Center on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin.
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