So the first week of Girls High School Basketball is in the books. There were some intriguing match ups and a lot of great games.
And as I said before, under the lights and against other top teams and players in the city, you find players and teams finding their identity.
So I have to start with 2015 Mikki Flores and Churchill Chargers. Time, time and again Flores showed last year what she can do. Well, she continued where she left off from last year and led her team to a good win over Brandeis. Then Flores went on to win MVP for Harlandale Tournament. How about Churchill teammate 2016 Maiya Green? After 5 games she is averaging right over 19 points a game. Churchill with new Head Coach, is grooving along.
Let me jump to Stevens, they beat Reagan with their best player on the bench. But Stevens Point guard 2016 Ariel De Los Santos played solid going for 12 points playing a lot of quality minutes. Nice job for her.
Let me jump to Corpus Christ Carroll. They won CC Mira's Riviera Basketball Tournament with SA big Schools Reagan, Johnson, Clemens, Cibolo Steele, Brandeis in the mix. That is impressive.
Does that say anything about the state of affairs in San Antonio High School Girls Basketball. Compared to Corpus, here in San Antono, there is a ton more resources here in San Antonio, quality trainers, Elite and real good basketball Clubs, seemingly endless supply of quality talent.
I said it before, a lot of great young ladies graduating with immense leadership ability leaving a Temporary void. As the season progresses, players and teams will mature, step up and fill the voids.
In short, so many teams are in the mix that anything can happen.
How about Smithson Valley going 5-0 before losing in Championship game in Dripping Springs Tournament?
MacArthur beats Reagan. Madison gets by Wagner.
Great examples of teams trying to fill in voids and not settling for how it used to be last year.
Still a long season to go for sure but it makes for intriguing match ups for down the road.
Many times when teams have injuries, people point out, yeah but so and so wasn't playing. More time than not that is true, but not always. Hypothetically, Lebron James and Cleveland could lose to the Philadelphia 76ers any given night. The odds would be highly unlikely but still possible. But if Cleveland lost to the 76ers without Lebron, out for any reason, then the mantra would be, yeah but Lebron didn't play. Fair enough, my point is you have to play the game with what you got. A win is a win and a loss is a loss. Following is just a snapshot of right now in my view just for FUN! Still plenty of games left.
1. Brennan- Only game played this week vs Wagner. They get the Win with huge game from 2016 Monique Terry. She just brings so much energy to the court. Try and contain her and fellow post 2015 Deja Mason and then it will start raining 3's with 2017's Megan Valdez and Kenzie Heineman. Plus they have a nice bench that can play quality minutes. Tough team. They beat Wagner. Monday vs Madison.
2. Churchill- They are unbeaten no matter what the schedule has been so far. Same script from last year, different Coach. Time will tell if they can keep improving and growing and more importantly keep winning. And the Time is soon, they play unbeaten Clark Tuesday.
3. Stevens- They beat Reagan and rested the rest of the week. Game vs Cibolo Steele on Tuesday. Coach Hastings gets more from her players than most people can even try to. Intriguing match up and fun game to go see.
4. Clark- They are unbeaten and UNTESTED! But we will know more about them when they face Churchill. 2016 Ria Gulley and 2015 Kirsten Kramer are leading the way but have a lot more weapons including a deep bench. Keep an eye on 2015 April Matthews. Interesting to see how the Matchup with Churchill unfolds. Another fun game to see.
5. Clemens- 2015 Kyra Lambert is going to will her team to wins. I would not want to play Clemens early in the playoffs. Play Reagan Tuesday.
6. O'Connor- They had a nice win over Johnson with 2015 Amber Vidal and 2016 Kasey Saldana leading the way. Vidal seemingly scored at will and Saldana was relentless to the basket. Had a nice showing at Copperas Cove Tournament. They lost twice to Waco La Vega, defending 3A State Champion coming in Runner-up.
7. Johnson- Lost to O'Connor and to Carroll in the CC Championship game. This team is just going to grow and mature and get better as the season wears on. 2018 D. Caldwell made some great shots and plays against O'Connor and is leading the team in scoring. Very athletic team that can run as well.
2015 Erica Saunders is just fun to watch attacking the basket and playing defense. A confident 2016 Tara Molina can help with opening up the lanes with her midrange and outside shots.
8. Madison- Beat Wagner and face top ranked team Brennan on Monday. They have an opportunity to show what they got. 2015 Moriah Creswell runs the floor well and can make things happen. 2016 Lexi Rich can definitely light it up. They should be fired up going into Monday's game.
9. Wagner- Two losses, no sweat. Games have been tight and close. Wagner have a lot of new faces in the team lineup. But they also have a lot of familiar faces as well. And you can never count out 2016 Amber Ramirez in any matchup. They play Antonian, a private school trying to make a name of itself with a solid line up of Club players led by 2016's Sandy Ramirez and Brittany Parker.
10. Steele- Beat Southwest and lost to Carroll. 2016 Alexis Bryant is scoring close to 20 points a game. They will get stronger as the season progresses.
Honorable Mention
Smithson Valley- nice start. Knocking on the door. Can they kick it in?
Brandeis- Losses to Churchill, Steele and Johnson. Looking to win Floresville Tournament this coming weekend
Reagan- Losses to Stevens, Carroll and Mac. Can they rebound vs Schertz Clemens on Tuesday
Other Notes
Devine 2016 Baylee Quinsenberry goes for 29pts against Express News ranked Navarro.
Incarnate Word- 2018 Sophia Ramos goes for 18 pts in her debut against SMH. She should have a great year and career. Very dynamic and fun player to watch.
Games of Interest
Monday- Brennan at Madison at Littleton gym 5pm
Tuesday- Clark vs Churchill at Littleton gym 6pm
Cibolo Steele ve Stevens at Paul Taylor gym 630pm
Clemens vs Reagan at Littleton gym 730pm
Wagner at Antonian 730pm
Incarnate Word vs Express News Ranked Floresville at Incarnate Word HS 730pm (GYM SHOULD HAVE A PACKED HOUSE!)
GO SUPPORT GIRLS BASKETBALL!