Memorial Examiner - Sports
Second Baptist starts district, which has 2 top 5 teams
By MIKE TENNEY
Now comes the hard part.
The Second Baptist girls basketball team, which has already won 20 games and were easy winners in their own Eagle Holiday Classic tournament last week, have had a fun November and December.
But now the Eagles start their district schedule and with the TAPPS 4-II league holding the state’s number one team (Westbury Christian) and number three squad (Tomball Concordia Lutheran), head coach Eric Boettcher knows things won’t come easy.
“We are very much looking forward to it, but we’re in a very tough district,” said Boettcher “Westbury Christian is number one in the state in TAPPS 4A and 5A and number nine in the country and they’re beating these powerful 5A schools by 30 and 40 points. They’ve also got inside players who are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7 and it’s just incredibly tough for anyone to match up with them.
“Concordia’s also playing very well. They’re very strong. They’ve got a very athletic team and, like Westbury, they’ve also beaten some very good teams, so we’re just going to go out there and try to play our best and give it all we got.”
He said the bottom line is making the postseason and with four playoffs spots available, he thinks it’s a realistic goal.
“Our main objective is to make the playoffs,” said Boettcher. “That would be big for these girls and that’s something we’ve talked about since the season began. I think if we’re fortunate enough to make the playoffs that playing in this district will help get us ready because we’re going to have some very tough games here shortly.”
They swept through four opponents to take their recent tournament with senior Kendall Shanklin, junior Jennifer Doughtie, sophomore Maddie Peveto and sophomore Shannon Dodds all earning all-tournament honors for the Golden Eagles.
“We played real well in our tournament,” said Boettcher. “I was a little worried because we had the long layoff before we started the tournament, but the girls came in focused and ready to play and it showed because we played very well.”
He said even if his team falters a couple of times in district play, he believes the program is still on the rise.
“I’m very pleased with the direction the girls are going in right now,” said Boechtter. “We’re getting great leadership from Kendall. She’s playing real well and shooting the ball very well for us and we’re playing real well as a team right now. We’re getting help off our bench and all the girls are coming in and doing their jobs right now. That’s all we ask of them.”
He also credited juniors Leslie Slaughter and Braeden Brock for their play.
The Eagles’ district schedule is seven games long and Boechtter said they want to win all of them, but five or six victories will be enough to get them into the postseason.
“If we win five games, we’re in the playoffs,” he said. “I really believe that. Our goal is obviously to try and win all seven games, but I would think five is really the magic number you’re looking at. I know our girls have been facing challenges all season with our non-district schedule, but now they’re facing a real challenge in our district.”
The Eagles will be at home Friday night for another district contest when they face Awty International.
The Second Baptist girls basketball team, which has already won 20 games and were easy winners in their own Eagle Holiday Classic tournament last week, have had a fun November and December.
But now the Eagles start their district schedule and with the TAPPS 4-II league holding the state’s number one team (Westbury Christian) and number three squad (Tomball Concordia Lutheran), head coach Eric Boettcher knows things won’t come easy.
“We are very much looking forward to it, but we’re in a very tough district,” said Boettcher “Westbury Christian is number one in the state in TAPPS 4A and 5A and number nine in the country and they’re beating these powerful 5A schools by 30 and 40 points. They’ve also got inside players who are 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7 and it’s just incredibly tough for anyone to match up with them.
“Concordia’s also playing very well. They’re very strong. They’ve got a very athletic team and, like Westbury, they’ve also beaten some very good teams, so we’re just going to go out there and try to play our best and give it all we got.”
He said the bottom line is making the postseason and with four playoffs spots available, he thinks it’s a realistic goal.
“Our main objective is to make the playoffs,” said Boettcher. “That would be big for these girls and that’s something we’ve talked about since the season began. I think if we’re fortunate enough to make the playoffs that playing in this district will help get us ready because we’re going to have some very tough games here shortly.”
They swept through four opponents to take their recent tournament with senior Kendall Shanklin, junior Jennifer Doughtie, sophomore Maddie Peveto and sophomore Shannon Dodds all earning all-tournament honors for the Golden Eagles.
“We played real well in our tournament,” said Boettcher. “I was a little worried because we had the long layoff before we started the tournament, but the girls came in focused and ready to play and it showed because we played very well.”
He said even if his team falters a couple of times in district play, he believes the program is still on the rise.
“I’m very pleased with the direction the girls are going in right now,” said Boechtter. “We’re getting great leadership from Kendall. She’s playing real well and shooting the ball very well for us and we’re playing real well as a team right now. We’re getting help off our bench and all the girls are coming in and doing their jobs right now. That’s all we ask of them.”
He also credited juniors Leslie Slaughter and Braeden Brock for their play.
The Eagles’ district schedule is seven games long and Boechtter said they want to win all of them, but five or six victories will be enough to get them into the postseason.
“If we win five games, we’re in the playoffs,” he said. “I really believe that. Our goal is obviously to try and win all seven games, but I would think five is really the magic number you’re looking at. I know our girls have been facing challenges all season with our non-district schedule, but now they’re facing a real challenge in our district.”
The Eagles will be at home Friday night for another district contest when they face Awty International.
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