Girls basketball ends season after two rounds of playoffs

Drew Doig, Staff Writer • February 22, 2018

The girls basketball team’s season ended last Friday as they lost their final game to Prosper, 62-33. The Leopards ended with an overall record of 27-9 and finished second in District 15-5A.

Even though the team got down early as Prosper jumped to a 24-2 lead, head coach Lance Boxell was proud of how his team never gave up.

“We could have easily stopped playing hard because of being down by so much, but we kept giving effort on each possession and ended the half on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 13 points,” Boxell said.

The team struggled from the three point line, shooting at a low 18 percent, and they also didn’t convert from the freethrow line, shooting 31 percent.

“Even though shots did not fall for us, the effort was there the entire game,” Boxell said.

Boxes is proud of his team’s performance throughout the entire season.

“We had a great season,” Boxell said. “Our .750 winning percentage is the best in the history of the program.”

The team will lose a large senior class of 10 players.

“This was the biggest senior class in the history of the program, and we were fortunate to have these seniors lead the way each day throughout the season,” Boxell said.

Senior Kaylee Rekieta thought the team did well this season despite the recent loss to Prosper.

“What I am going to miss most is not being with my teammates everyday and having the fun we have had the past four years,” Rekieta said.

Next season, the team will return four varsity players and will have some key additions from the sub-varsity teams. The Leopards will also be playing in the new District 10-5A after the recent UIL realignments.

About the Contributors

Drew Doig, Staff Writer

Entering his fourth and final year on The Red Ledger staff, senior Drew Doig will continue to be a sports writer. Drew, or “Doig” as he’s more commonly called, is a member of the varsity basketball team, National Honor Society, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Outside of school, Doig enjoys hanging out with friends and watching sports. A fan of everything Auburn, Doig plans to attend Auburn University. However, with major persuasion from his brother Grant, he could end up attending the University of Arkansas. Doig also enjoys playing video games and will take on any worthy opponent in NCAA 14 or NBA 2K. You can find Doig on the grill as he enjoys throwing on a nice New York Strip with fellow senior Kyle Olson. He enjoys watching The Office and will recite a line from Dwight Schrute when need be. Doig hopes that his wealth of experience on the staff and expressive personality will land him on the TRL’s heralded “RIP wall” next to some of the all time greats that came through E103. Doig couldn’t be more excited to be on the staff for his senior year along with fellow veteran Joseph Vastano, and he’s ready to take the class to an elite level.

Nick Smith, TRL Editor-in-Chief

Nick Smith is a senior and has held a US citizenship for 17 years, but is still confused as to why he still doesn't qualify for senior citizen discounts. Nick spends his days either hanging out with friends or living in what he calls his second home, but everyone else just calls the newspaper room. He somehow swung it with the counselors to have three periods of newspaper this year, and now seeks to push his luck by requesting a bed to be furnished in the newspaper room for his afternoon naps. In addition to his duties with The Red Ledger, Nick serves as the self-titled “Chief Player Motivator” for the varsity soccer team. Nick draws his inspiration for his fiery, sometimes over the top speeches from the movie-speech greats: Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, Matthew McConaughey in We Are Marshall, and of course Denzel Washington in Remember The Titans. This will be Nick’s third year as a part of The Red Ledger staff and first as an Editor-In-Chief. Alongside his fellow EICs Hannah and MC, Nick hopes to further the legacy of The Red Ledger and work to make newspaper the best part of each and every staffers’ day.