Lady Riders Basketball Starts District Play
Junior Mariela Taylor moves the ball past the LEE defender. Taylor scored 15 points in the game. Photo by Allison Boerger
By Jaqueleen Vidal | Staff Writer
This article was originally posted in the Big Stick print publication Dec. 19, 2018.
The Varsity girls received an award at their El Paso Tournament at the beginning of the month. They were named a McDonald’s Classic All Tournament Team.
“They were two of 12 selected,” coach Rob Rheinberger said.
“There were a lot of good teams, and we had a lot of injuries so the girls had to really get out there and display a lot of effort. A lot of them had never flown or stayed out of San Antonio overnight so it was a really good opportunity for the girls to gain experience.”
The weekend away really helped the team grow closer at the tournament, Dec. 6-8.
“It was fun. It was a really good opportunity for all of us and the players filling in. It made for good bonding and just getting to know each other more. We definitely improved on our playing chemistry, what each other’s strength and weaknesses were and having good timing on when to put them in play and our point guards showed a lot of improvement with handling the ball,” junior Mariela Taylor said.
The girls opened district play and took their first district loss against LEE (10-10) Friday night. They remained close throughout the game, down by only four at the half and waging a big comback in the fourth quarter but still falling short at 44-39.
“You just have to show up and go out there and play at your best.
We don’t care about wins and losses, those will come,” Rheinberger said. “No matter the situation, you have to keep going at it if you want to be successful.”
The girls beat Burbank and Lanier in an early season tournament, but there are now quite a few players out due to sickness and/or injury. Although the team is short on players, they are still making their best effort.
“It’s very difficult. two of our kids, probably our top players, are out and two who are our starters as well,” Rheinberger said. “So basically we have four starters out. Which for us means we have to pull from our JV group and a lot of inexperience comes with that as well. The players have to adjust around that and work on teamwork, getting to know each other more off and on the court. Just proving that we work hard and play hard even more.”
Standing at current record of 2-11, Varsity girls will be going against Churchill Friday, Dec. 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Blossom Athletic Center.