Lady Stangs committed to winning ways
• They have a strong desire to be successful. Marble Falls continued to fight and scrap in games no matter the score and situation. That trait will serve them well because many district foes still consider them to be the team to beat.
• They have a belief they are never out of any game. The Lady Mustangs set up their plays and execute, especially in the closing minutes when it matters most. During the American Bank of Texas Tournament, they repeatedly worked to protect leads.
• They are driven by doubters. Senior guard Diana Fonseca indicated that by taking a deep breath, smiling and saying she and her teammates are committed to continuing the tradition of success the program has enjoyed the last several years. That’s great news for a program that is very loved and still followed by many people who make it a point to attend as many of their contests as possible.
We also saw some areas of concern, and head coach Stephanie Gamble said as much in her post-game comments after the win against Manor, 47-42, Nov. 21.
The biggest is how well the players take care of the ball.
One of the great lessons I learned during the 2006-2007 season was from the Faith Academy Lady Flames in their loss to Killeen Harker Heights.
Harker Heights did not have an answer for former standout post Ashley Field, now at Baylor University. So Harker Heights simply took Field out of the equation. How? By pressuring the Faith guards and not allowing them to pass to the block where Field was calling for the ball.
The point is a team can have the best post on the floor, but she can’t help the squad without the ball.
What Manor and San Marcos did well was pressure the Marble Falls guards in the half-court trap. They got several steals they converted to layups.
By the time the Lady Mustangs faced Plainview, however, they relaxed more and did not allow the half-court trap to bother them.
That showed growth and the willingness to learn that is vital for a successful season.
As for the loss to Cedar Park, Gamble was right when she said the Timberwolves are a great team.
Cedar Park has the tangibles coaches can’t teach: height, quickness, court instinct and natural ability.
Cedar Park happened to have a tremendous outside game that forced Marble Falls to extend its defense. Once that happened, the Timberwolves passed to posts to force one-on-one situations. And they took advantage.
Gamble noted there simply isn’t enough time right now to work on game situations.
That’s because of the way predistrict schedules are constructed. Conditioning for basketball is an art, according to Faith Academy boys basketball coach Larry Berkman, who served as the boys head coach at Marble Falls for two decades.
Simply put, players have a better attitude about conditioning if they are playing games as opposed to running lines during practices.
The other factors are the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. High school students must take a five-day break during Christmas. So coaches schedule New Year’s tournaments to help their players regain some of the conditioning they may have missed while celebrating Christmas.
Most athletes rely on muscle memory to be successful. That comes from spending hours on the court working on their shots, dribbling drills and going over plays.
Gamble will continue to get this group ready for battle. She is showing why she is the right coach at the right time for this program. She is getting maximum effort from her players who displayed their character in bouncing back from the loss to Cedar Park to beat Plainview for third in their tournament Nov. 22.
As they play through their pre-district schedule and on to district, we’ll continue to discover even more about this team and their success.