How to be a champion:
"You wonder how they do it, and you look to see the knack,
You watch the foot in action, or the shoulder, or the back.
But when you spot the answer, where the higher glamours lurk,
You'll find in moving higher up the laurel covered spire,
That most of it is practice, and the rest of it is work."
- Grantland Rice
Last night, January 29th, the Lady Mustangs came to town. This was the final game these ladies will play at home as a group of Junior High basketball athletes. They walked off the floor having never lost a game on their floor in two years. We put girls from the A team and B team together for their final home game. We didn't get a second B game in Cotulla last week due to the number of students in Cotulla with the flu. The B team finished with a 1 - 0 record. Before they began Coach Bohl let me tell the ladies that they had been polished and worked and now it was time for the home crowd to see them shine and sparkle like the diamonds they are. We started cold and missed our first six shots. Our press kept the Lady Mustangs at bay and we made some shots. We finished the quarter with the highlight of the season for me when we inbounded the ball with 2 seconds left. Eternity gave it to Calyssa about 35 feet from the basket. Calyssa raised up and let the ball fly. I had a vantage point directly in line with the basket. As the buzzer sounded the ball swished through the net. We kept Natalia off the scoreboard in the second quarter to finish the half leading 25-0. That gave us 13 quarters that we have not allowed our opponents to score. Natalia came out the second half and thought they were playing contact basketball.
Calyssa plays excellent basketball but after an intentional foul by a Natalia player Calyssa played at a level I had not seen. She took over the game stealing balls and not allowing passes to get past her. She led all scorers with 20 points. This puts her over 200 points for the season. Eternity Diaz had 10 points, Amelia Martinez had 6, Jessica Mata 5, and Katara Whitfield finished the scoring with 3 points. The other players are Fatima Montes, Brianna Padares, Abcde Imning, Chelynn Dingler, Leandra Mora, Andrea Aguilar, Tori Perez, and Celeste Martinez. We finish the season next week in Dilley. Thanks to all the fans and parents who support these ladies.
"For every finish-line tape a runner breaks - complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras - there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about." - Grete Waitz
See photos in Google Album: JH Girls Basketball vs. Natalia 1-30-2020