2017 Girls BB Championship by The Canadian Record

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE CANADIAN RECORD

What a fantastic journey our 2017 Canadian Lady Cats took us on this season. Our senior players began our journey with their motto of “Now or Never” before the season started. Without a doubt, our seniors modeled this motto from the beginning and our underclassmen got in line with them, as we marched toward our championship season. Our journey always begins at the end of the previous season. We begin offseason training and conditioning and we carry that throughout our summer with team and individual camps. It was obvious after last season that our players’ mindset and drive to be a championship team had taken hold after some bitter disappointments of seasons gone by. As we stepped in the gym the first time when school began, it was obvious to our coaching staff and to our individual players that there was a different feel in the gym as we began the school year and our season. There was a real sense of urgency, a palpable edginess to our practices from our players and our coaches. It was never a bad feeling, just noticeably different. Every time we were on the court, in the weight room, or doing our conditioning, every player was giving everything they had to make themselves a better athlete and player. Oftentimes through the course of the season, we as coaches and players had fans mention the different “feel” this team had. I don’t think any of us knew exactly what this feeling was, but we sure hoped, in the back of our minds, we KNEW what it was. It was the making of a championship team. There are a few characteristics that stand out about our team. We most definitely had a “team first” attitude. Every player wanted the best for their team even if it meant individual sacrifice. We had numerous lineup changes. Not one player complaint. We had adjustments in playing time. Not one player complaint. We had various rotations in games. Not one player complaint. Our players truly wanted what was best for each other and our team. They recognized when players were playing better than others. They recognized that some opponents required a different matchup offensively or defensively. They recognized that our coaches were giving our team the best chance to win that night no matter what that meant for them as individuals. This type of attitude does not happen on every team. Another characteristic that stood out for our team was one of perseverance through adversity. Our team had several setbacks throughout the year. We had two injuries that sidelined two key players for multiple games. Our players and our team stood up and filled the hole with their individual talents and made our team better. We had a couple of defeats where we had opportunities to win and do something special, but for various reasons took the defeat. Our players and our team stood up and made sure those defeats were not going to define our season. We had a family situation with me as their coach and I was forced to miss some preparation time during our playoff run. Our players and our team practiced and prepared like they had all season. They were not going to let that be a reason for their season to end. Championships are never easy, but our team never lost its way. We had to persevere in order to make our season special to the end. Lastly, I would like to thank our coaches who go above and beyond for our athletes every day in every way. I would like to thank our school board and administration, which truly is second to none. I would like to thank all of our parents who do so much for our players, from decorating locker rooms and doing pictures in the gym, to sacrificing family time to send players to camps, tournaments, and practices. Thanks to the many fans who follow our Lady Cats to tournaments, games, and every playoff game, no matter how far or where we may play. Special thanks to the Palace Theater, that gave our fans who could not travel to San Antonio to see the game, a chance to see it live. I have enjoyed seeing all the pictures of the Palace Theater and Main Street on game day. Most importantly, thank you players for being so dedicated to our season and, more importantly, for being great people, who, although this is a special accomplishment, will not let it define your life and who you are as a person. Cherish this moment Now and Forever. Thanks Lady Cats. Your 2017 State Champion Coach

As I hope you’re about to discover for yourself, I wanted this special edition to be chock full of information and photos of the best 3A girls basketball team in the state of Texas. Therefore, there’s not much room for long-winded reminiscing about the season. I’ll leave that up to the following 30 pages. Instead, I would just like to leave this brief note expressing my gratitude to the entire Lady Cat family. You’ve not only been wel-

coming to me the past two years, I’ve never seen athletes so excited to have to deal with yet another obnoxious media person on an almost daily basis. On the contrary, y’all always treated me like a friend. Your kindness and enthusiasm have left a lasting impression on my heart, from that first game in Pampa over a year ago, to the last one in San Antonio this past month. Holy cow, you guys have come a long way. I only hope that the love I felt is reciprocated in these pages. I can’t wait to cover next season, but it won’t be the same without Cinthia, Haevyn, Kayla, Avery and Vanessa—I’m going to miss you guys more than most, but can’t wait to see what you do next. Thanks for the memories.

Peyton

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

For 16 years, under the direction of Head Coach Kevin Richardson, the Canadian Lady Cat program has been a dominant one. But for 15 of those years, the team has struggled to get over that last hurdle— winning a state championship. In 2017, the pieces were all finally in place, but the journey to San Antonio was far from a sure thing. With five seniors balanced by six key role players, all with varsity experience under their belts, Canadian fans felt as sure as ever of finally reaching the Texas promised land. But despite so much continuity returning for 2017, the Lady Cats had to find themselves three or four different times over the course of the season. “When you look at our season,” said Richardson, “it feels about like four different seasons. The time before Haevyn got hurt, we were playing real good basketball—winning close games and playing well for the most part. Then our team evolved during that time [Risley] didn’t play. Those 11 games, our other players stepped up and played exceptionally well.” The Canadian athletic department never takes their predistrict schedule lightly and the Lady Cats were no exception in November. After plastering Pampa (65-30), Wheeler (69-29) and Wellington (47-24), the No. 21 Lady Cats headed to Wolfforth to challenge themselves in the Frenship tournament. After opening the tournament with a season-high of 27 points in the first quarter versus Borger (69-24), the Lady Cats beat up Dumas 57-40. That set up the Lady Cats to face the hosting 6A Lady Tigers later that afternoon. Canadian allowed a seasonhigh in field-goal makes by Frenship with 20 before dropping their first game of the season 44-52. But rather than totally collapsing, the Lady Cats turned around the next day and handled Greenwood, 42-33. After starting the game with a season-low 3 points in the first quarter, Canadian appeared dead in the water, but junior Emily Alexander spurred the Cats to victory on a 21-point effort. The Lady Cats began to climb the rankings and rematched Borger (57-8) and Dumas (48-27) with similar results from the Frenship tournament just a week prior. Canadian returned to tournament play, facing off with eventual 5A state champion Canyon with predictable results, 2549. The Lady Cats were only able to force a season-low eight turnovers before the Lady Eagles scored an opponent-high 42 bench points and held Canadian to a season-low 25 points. No matter, because, once again, rather than folding, the Lady Cats dusted themselves off and stared down 5A Grapevine right to the final second. In those last mo-

THE CANADIAN RECORD

ments, senior Haevyn Risley raced the length of the court, and scored the buzzer-beater bucket to get the 52-51 victory. But the win came at a high cost. Risley— the Lady Cats leading scorer—ended up with a broken finger that sidelined her for a month. Even more bad news, the Lady Cats were set to face off with top-ranked Wall in the consolation final. But somebody forgot to tell Canadian they were dead in the water. Instead, Alexander scored 19 points and the Lady Cats blew out the turnover battle 20-13 to handle the Hawks. Senior Cinthia Morales sealed the deal, going 4-of4 from the line in the final minutes to give Canadian the 39-33 win and succeed the top 3A ranking in the state of Texas. From there, the now No. 1 Lady Cats went on a rampage, crushing Bushland (4938), Perryton (42-29) and Mangum, Oklahoma (49-24). That set Canadian up for their final games of 2016 in the Gruver Holiday Classic. Clarendon was of little concern, as the Lady Cats brushed off their opening opponent, 64-14, holding them to opponent lows of field goals (2-29, 7%), zero second-chance points, and only 4 points in the second quarter. At the semifinal competition, Perryton was predictable, getting dunked 72-37. That set up a matchup of top contenders, as the Lady Cats met top-ranked 2A Claude in the tournament championship. The Lady ‘Stangs had their number. After jumping out to a 23-13 halftime lead, the Lady Cats unraveled, committing a season-high 24 turnovers and a season-high 28 fouls. That sent Claude to the line an opponent-high 34 times for 18 makes, and that was enough to put the ‘Stangs over the top, 43-39. “In a big game, big moment, you had your chance,” said Richardson. “We didn’t show up.” That was it. The Lady Cats had had enough of second place. Poor Shamrock took the brunt of that frustration, getting crushed 74-15 thanks to a goose egg forced by the Lady Cats in the third frame. Canadian then went on the warpath, cutting through district 1-3A like a hot knife through butter. Highland Park (56-31, 5240), River Road (64-22, 80-34), Spearman (44-28, 58-22), Childress (60-16, 56-21) and Tulia (67-33, 70-38) all suffered the wrath of the Lady Cats. Canadian averaged a 32-point win through all 10 games—12 points more than in predistrict—forced 20 steals and 28.5 turnovers per game—3.5 more per game—and was 11 percent more efficient from the free-throw line. That set the Lady Cats up as a No. 1 seed headed into the playoffs, and the clear favorite to win it all.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

For the Lady Cats, the playoffs ended up being a true testing ground. Right from the get-go, Lubbock Roosevelt tested Canadian’s gumption out of the gate in the bi-district round. The Lady Eagles hit five 3-pointers to always stay within striking distance. The Lady Cats handled the pressure though, outrebounding Roosevelt 33-16 and collecting four blocks on the night. Three Lady Cats ended up in double-digit scoring, including doubledoubles by senior Haevyn Risley (14 pts, 10 rebs) and junior Emily Alexander (11 pts, 12 rebs). Canadian handled the early pressure, winning the bi-district championship 48-31. Area featured the Lady Cat team that most people expected, pounding Ballinger 76-28. The poor Bearcats were allowed an opponent-low 24 field-goal attempts while Canadian exploded from the field, going 26-of-53 including 6-of-15 from outside the arc. For the second game in a row, Risley (12), Alexander (12) and Vanessa Guthrie (10) led all scorers, thanks to 21 assists, 35 steals, and 44 turnovers forced by the Lady Cats, all playoff highs. The Lady Cats also flexed their depth, scoring a playoff-high 35 bench points. That set up one of the most anticipated regional-qualifier matches in the state as the Lady Cats met up with No. 21 Littlefield in Amarillo. Immediately, it seemed the destined Lady Cats were finished. Littlefield crushed the first quarter, scoring an opponent-high 15 points on the normally defensive Cats. For many teams, the 11-point lead would be insurmountable. “The Littlefield game was such a big game for us,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “Between the first and second quarter, you’re down 17-4, it isn’t looking so good. As players came off the court, you could see and hear it, I just didn’t feel any panic in our team. We gotta play better. We gotta make some shots. But we’re still in the game. That was very comforting as a coach. The bench are all saying, ‘We’re alright. We just gotta play.’” For the first time, perhaps, in program history, panic never set it. “Even when we were down 10 or 12 points against Littlefield,” said senior Cinthia Morales, “not one second did I doubt we were gonna win that game. This quarter’s going to be over, and we’re going to play the next quarter the best we can.” “We told them in the huddle,” said Richardson, “‘You don’t have to be winning at

THE CANADIAN RECORD

halftime. You just have to be in the game. And then we’re up 24-23 at halftime. That was a moment that I felt our team had what it took.” Risley exploded for 18 points and five steals as the Lady Cats pieced together a 20-7 second frame not just to get back in the game, but to take an unrelenting lead all the way to the regional tournament, 3632. “Going back to Littlefield, when we were down by so much,” said Guthrie. “Looking around me, nobody was panicked. I wasn’t panicked which even surprised myself. Coach wasn’t all that panicked. This is okay, the game’s not over until the buzzer. We can still do this, and we did. Proved it to them and proved it to us—to me. Pretty amazing.” The momentum catapulted the Lady Cats into the regional tournament versus No. 19 Brock—a consistent state champion that had just knocked off a No. 1 seed in 27-6, and No. 4-ranked state champion ,Jim Ned. That didn’t stop the Lady Cats from putting on a clinic versus the Lady Eagles. “[Our players] don’t know who Brock is,” said Richardson. “Brock has won five or six state championships. They didn’t know that. Brock upset Jim Ned. [Our players] didn’t know who Jim Ned was. They knew who we were. They just went out and played. They just went out and beat them, handily, with confidence.” Thanks, in large part, to a career game by Risley who scored 31 points. The Lady Cats hit a season-high 23 free throws and Brock was never really in the game, crumbling 56-41. That brought about the highly-anticipated rematch between the Lady Cats and No. 3 Wall. Canadian had already proved themselves the better team in December, 39-33, only this time, the Lady Cats had Risley back in the lineup. The same Risley that scored 31 points the night before, to the Hawks’ horror. “I’ve never seen a team more giddy or excited to get to play Wall again,” said Richardson. “I’ve never seen a locker room like that. They didn’t even know it was regional finals, I don’t think. They just knew, ‘We get to play Wall again? And we’ve already beat them! We beat them without Haevyn!’ I’ve never seen confidence like that in a team.” And why not? Risley asserted her authority from the tip, scoring the first 8 points of the game for

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Canadian. Fear set in, and the Hawks overcommitted to defending the hot hand, only to allow Alexander and Guthrie to take control of the game for a combined 23 points and another double-double by Alexander. Risley ended up with 26 points of her own as the Lady Cats outshot the Hawks, 57.6 percent to 27.9. “The regional final game was so fun,” said senior Avery Pennington. “We had played them in the Canyon tournament, and we beat them without Haevyn, which was really cool. But it was even cooler to beat them with Haevyn. You don’t know our strength. We got our secret weapon back.” The 57-43 win was a statement—one that carried over into San Antonio. No. 16 Goliad ended up as a glorified scrimmage for the Lady Cats. While picking up a season-high 51 rebounds, 14 Lady Cats picked up minutes with 10 scoring. Risley (22), Alexander (14) and Caroline Cook (11) ended up in double digits, and for the second game in a row the Lady Cats decimated their opponent with shot selection, 49 to 22 percent, and coasted to a 76-34 victory. “Nobody saw the Goliad game coming,” said Richardson. “We thought we were the better team, but nobody sees a 40-point win in the state tournament. We just played a really outstanding game.” That just left one game for the Lady Cats to prove they were deserving of the No. 1 ranking attached to them since December. No. 23 Buffalo had somehow found a way to edge No. 6 Mount Vernon in their semifinal game, 50-43, and they now had their sights set on upending the top team in the land. For 31 minutes, they looked the part as well, cutting off a Lady Cat lead at the end of the first half, then building one of their own as large as 7 with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. But once again, the Lady Cats never panicked. With four minutes to go in the game, the lead turned to 5. Then a Guthrie layup cut it down to 3. With less than three minutes to go, a Risley layin brought it down to 2, then again, at a minute and a half to 1. With 43 seconds to go, the ball with the Bison’s leading scorer, Morales took an egregious charge to get the ball back to the Lady Cats. Facing a full-court press, Risley heaved a pass from one end of the hardwood to the other into the open hands of Pennington. She sidestepped her lone de-

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

fender and gave her patented jump shot. All 6,000 in the Alamodome went silent. Swish. Then a deafening roar from the 3,000 Canadian strong. With the 51-49 victory, the Lady Cats not only validated over a decade and a half of work by Richardson, but personified a polymorphic season, completing the comeback once again. “We had to find ourselves several times during the season,” said Richardson. “This is how we’re going to be at the beginning, and we played pretty good. Then, 11 games where we play without our best player. Who are we? Who are we going to be? Then we play through district—good at times, not so good at times. Haevyn’s trying to get back in shape. We’re trying to find ourselves with her. So much adversity, it all kind of spilled out in that Buffalo game. They try to take away Haevyn, other players have to step up. The adversity wasn’t anything tragic, you just have to find yourself.” With her 20-point performance in the championship, Risley solidified herself as the 3A MVP. The Lady Cats had gone from a respectable program to the program standard. “We had a lot of experience,” said Richardson. “Lots of basketball being played through the years. We were a little bit more of a matured team, to be able to handle some of that adversity and believe in what we did. Believing in what we did as coaches, that what we’re doing is good. We just gotta put it to action and know that’s good enough to win.” Almost every other team ends their season with a loss, but for the first time in 16 years, the Lady Cats season ended on the sweetest note. “You’ve spent your lifework doing this,” said Richardson. “Usually at the end of the year, I’m kind of down. It’s over with. But this year it’s different because we won. It’s not what can we change to put us over the hump? A lot of satisfaction.” “It took a couple days for it to sink in,” said Morales. “I was looking at some pictures and I thought, ‘Wow, it’s over. We finished it the best we could.’” “At the beginning of district,” said Guthrie, “something felt different. We could actually do this. This is our year—it’s going to have to happen now. I knew we could make it to state. Then once we got there, it was like, ‘We have to win now. There’s no turning back.’ Something about this team and this year, I just knew it could happen.”

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Don’t judge Cinthia Morales by her stature. In a contest that practically demands size and height matchups, in which advantages dictate the outcome, the 5-foot-2 senior is a game changer. “It’d be awesome if I was a couple inches taller,” said Morales, with a chuckle. “But God just made me the way I am. I couldn’t be intimidated by other people that were taller or I thought, maybe, were better than me. I’m good too, and I wasn’t going to let them score on me. I was going to use my strengths so I could help my team.” For a great deal of opponents, Morales stepped onto the court and immediately caused a great deal of frustration for ball handlers. In fact, Morales ended the season just 10 steals shy of triple digits earning District 1-3A Defensive MVP honors. Morales thinks her unassuming size and entrance from the bench could have a lot to do with the surprise factor of her talents. “I didn’t usually start,” said Morales, “so they probably thought that I wasn’t very good. I can come off the bench and show ‘em what I have.” “I played my best games coming off the bench,” continued Morales, “and I was okay with that. I grew where I was planted, and that’s what we all did throughout the year.” Morales was planted differently than the other five seniors. The ball of fire spent the 2016 season on JV, being undoubtedly the best player on a perfect 25-0 team. The confidence built from that campaign carried over into the 2017 state championship season.

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

“I was on varsity my sophomore year,” said Morales, “but I didn’t get to play as much. I played with the JV [last year] and I learned so much. I’m so thankful for that year. Coach Boyd was a great coach. He taught me a lot. That’s what helped me this year to be so successful.” “She just made plays,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “Offensively, defensively, she just made plays. Last year, being the best player on JV, developing some confidence. More than any other kid we’ve had, she took that role as an underclassmen on JV, and fit in with our varsity. At times, did some really amazing things. She’s a spark plug.” More times than not, it was Morales who ignited the team to victories in close calls. Versus Wall on Dec. 3, she had ice running through her veins, going 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to seal the 39-33 victory over the then-top team. “At Highland Park,” said Richardson, “we’re not playing very well. We’re in foul trouble. We went back to, ‘Take the ball to the hole, Cinthia. Nobody can guard you.’ She makes a nice little run, makes free throws, she just made the plays she needed to at the right times...especially on the defensive end.” That’s the truth. With just a 1-point lead in the state championship, Buffalo handed the ball to their leading scorer, who charged the length of the court, determined to put the game away, but Morales wouldn’t have it. The senior planted her feet and took the undeniable charge. The rest is history. In the following possession, the Lady Cats

took their first lead since the second quarter and held on to win the program’s first state championship. But that moment nearly didn’t happen. Midway through the semifinal game versus No. 16 Goliad two days prior, Morales exited the game with a serious ankle injury. After rolling her left ankle in the regional tournament, Morales came down wrong on her right. The damage felt disastrous. “I knew it was over,” said Morales. “I don’t know anybody that’s played a game with two sprained ankles. I had already sprained it at the regional tournament. I thought, ‘There’s no way. My season’s done.’ I felt awful. I knew I’d disappoint my teammates.” “Emily prayed over me,” said Morales. “The Lord gives strength to the weak and He strengthened me. I was really upset. I didn’t think I was going to play and Coach didn’t think I was going to play either.” “I got a phone call from my brother later that night,” said Morales. “He said, ‘I know you. You’re going to be fine. You have over 24 hours to get over this.’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll do my best.’ I was on a stem machine, ice and walked around for three hours straight. I had a great roommate, Chloe Walser. She played doctor all day. She took care of me, she was so sweet. The next morning, it wasn’t so swollen, but it still hurt a lot. My teammates were asking if I could play. I thought, ‘I can’t let them down. I have to play.’ So I sucked it up, took [some pain medication], taped up both ankles, and I’m going to be fine. We started warming up, and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. This is awful!’

THE CANADIAN RECORD

It hurt so much. I just acted OK. This is my senior year. I have to play. Act like I’m fine. Try not to limp. Once I got into the game, this entire adrenaline rush came through my body and I could only feel like 50 percent of the pain. I couldn’t focus on [the pain]. My biggest focus was winning this game for my team, for my community. After the game, it was awful. I couldn’t walk, Kayla had to carry me back [to the locker room]. We collapsed in the hall and a Panhandle coach just laughed at us. We cried a lot, we laughed a lot, it was just a great experience. I still don’t know how I played, but it was worth it.” That was the determination of the entire Lady Cat squad through the playoffs. “In the state championship,” said Morales, “we were down most of the time, but I never thought we were going to lose. We had it in us to get that championship. It’s about digging deep and relying on our teammates and knowing they’re going to do their job so I can do my job.” “Our team this year didn’t have a weak link,” said Morales. “We all had a strength and were capable of doing the job that Coach needed us to do.” “At the end of the day,” said Richardson, “the medal everyone gets is all the same. Nobody gets a bigger medal for who you were on that team. They epitomize that. From the first practice. They didn’t care who scored, who got it done, at the end of the day, that medal was the same size for everybody. We had to have everybody along the way.” Morales plans on studying nursing at Tarleton State after graduation.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Haevyn Risley is a rarity—a once-in-ageneration talent. “She’s such a great athlete,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “She can get steals, and rebounds and scores. Statistically, she’s been our best player for maybe the last three years. Started every game in high school—probably 120 games. Three out of four years, she ends up in the regional tournament. An overtime away from four out of four years. We’ve never had a kid like that.” “Even as a freshman, people had trouble defending her,” said Richardson. “Sophomore year, she had some brilliant moments. You could see it coming with 22 points against Gruver. They had no answer for her. You could see this all building. Last year was such an adjustment year for her because she had some really good players the years prior, but now she’s the player. She’s the one everyone was focused on. She had trouble making that adjustment.” But that acclimation came in 2017, and Risley took everything learned through her first three seasons and turned it into a an eye-popping senior campaign. With a team-high six field-goal makes per game on a team-high 12 attempts, she scored a team-high 15 points per game at a team-high 51-percent success rate. When opponents had enough of that, they would send her to the free-throw line a team-high 5.5 times per game. Then, Risley started dishing it to other teammates for a teamhigh 2.4 assists per game. She was also the greatest dilemma for opponents’ offenses with four steals per game—all for an insane average of 17.8 offensive-efficiency

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

rating. Her season highs are no less impressive. Ten field-goal makes against Tulia—twice. Two 3-pointers in the state semifinal. Twelve free throw makes on 17 attempts when No. 19 Brock could not stop a 31-point onslaught in the regional semifinal. Nine defensive rebounds, five assists and 11 steals, all versus district opponents. Each of these numbers are a team-high. Even more impressive, Risley was missing for a third of the Lady Cats’ season— eight games over the course of a month. Just before scoring a buzzer-beater goal versus Grapevine on Dec. 2, Risley suffered a broken finger on her shooting hand. Bad enough to require surgery and screws only a few days later. “I’ve never had an injury like that,” said Risley. “I may have had injuries, but I could play through them. I couldn’t even really touch a ball because it was my shooting hand. That was frustrating. I had to build up to the player I was [before the injury].” Through that injury, the Lady Cats only dropped one game and were able to find new means of production without their leading scorer. But boy, were they happy to see her return on Jan. 7 versus Highland Park. “It just hit me and everyone else that this is it,” said Risley, “we aren’t going to lose. If we’re going to do it, we have to do it now. We can’t back off. We have to pick our game up. We weren’t playing our best before that. Even the state game, we didn’t play our best, but we fought through it. That was our mentality. Just keep fighting.” And it shows in the numbers.

After scoring 13.3 points per game during the regular season, Risley scored 20.4 points per game through theplayoffs, was 25 percent more efficient from the freethrow line and skyrocketed from 7-percent efficiency outside the arc to 58 percent in the playoffs. But, for Head Coach Kevin Richardson, Risley’s impact is far more than numbers on the statline. “You can talk about stats all day long,” said Richardson. “When it came down to the last six ball games, she just decided she wasn’t going to lose. Her competitive nature spilled out and it took over the whole team.” “Littlefield,” said Richardson, “she makes a majority of plays to get us back in that game. Brock, she has 31 points and they don’t have much to say about it. Wall didn’t have much to say either. It was clear she was the best player in the region. When it mattered the most, she was able to elevate her game. That’s what I’ll take from her career. Forget about the stats. When it was most important to win, she won.” And that formula for winning is simple according to Risley and her head coach. “The thing everyone misses about Haevyn,” said Richardson. “She doesn’t just do that in a game. I knew her freshman year, she was about to rock some kid’s world because she was about to practice harder than anyone had practiced. She was going to go as hard as she could, and we needed that. That has spilled over into every kid we have in our program right now. You come to practice hard, and she’s the reason for that.”

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That impact ended up turning some heads up north. Black Hills State Head Coach Mark Nore caught sight of Risley at a travel tournament over the summer. He immediately felt that talent would be best used on the Division II Yellow Jackets roster. The feeling was mutual as Risley signed her letter of intent to continue her basketball career in Spearfish, South Dakota next year. After catching a heroic state tournament run, it’s hard to imagine Nore and the rest of the Yellow Jackets aren’t ecstatic over Risley’s arrival in just a few short months. But for Risley, her time as a Lady Cat will forever be irreplaceable. “I’m going to go on and play the game that I love,” said Risley, “but it’s not going to be the same. It wasn’t even the same as my sophomore year to my junior year. I loved, before and after the games, the bond I had with my teammates. That’s what I’m going to remember forever.” And for the scores of up-and-coming Lady Cats hoping to be the next Haevyn Risley, No. 15’s recipe for success remains just as simple. “Don’t settle,” said Risley. “Don’t cheat yourself. Every practice matters. Go all out every practice like you’re in a game. Results will come. It’s the process you have to fall in love with. Keep working. Keep fighting.” Along with pursuing her basketball career, Risley will continue her education in exercise and sports science.

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COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

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COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Championships are never built unchallenged. For the Lady Cats, the 2017 state championship was not built on the backs of 60-point victories. Instead, it was constructed on a foundation of failure and desire to do more. Over a decade ago, the Lady Cat basketball program made the trip to San Antonio. After running up a 32-2 record en route to the Alamodome, the Lady Cats had one more surprise up their sleeves, toppling the No. 2 Poth Pirettes in the semifinal, 49-46. Eventual champion Brock didn’t care, though. The Lady Eagles opened the game with a 17-2 first quarter and went on to rout the underdog Cats by a staggering 64-30. And for 12 years, that’s as close as Canadian would get to a state championship. “In 2005, we were a very good team,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “We beat Friona in the area game, a lot like Littlefield. Then, we’re playing Shallowater in the quarterfinal game. They had beaten us the year before. That was a huge game for us to win, mentally. Ballinger had maybe the best player we’ve ever played against in Buckskimper. We’re down 10 points in the third quarter against Tulia in the regional finals, and go on a 16-0 run to get to state. Like this year, we played really good teams in our region. You feel lucky to beat any one of those teams. We get to the semifinal game and play Poth. Poth had been there the previous two years. They had a lot of experience on their side and we ended up winning, 49-46. We just came up against Brock. They had two division-1 players on their team. We were overmatched from the first possession. They could have played

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

with anybody in the state that year.” Here rolls around 2017. The Lady Cats have battled to a similar record of 31-3 and are headed back to the Alamodome. “The teams were very similar,” said Richardson. “Shila Province was our goto player and we had some very good inside players. That’s not unusual. You have to have both of those to be a real contender. That’s not a coincidence.” Before making the 500-mile trip to the promised land, though, the Lady Cat team met up with their 2005 predecessors. For the semifinalists, revenge already felt a bit completed. In the 2017 regional tournament, the Lady Cats not only handled the No. 19 Brock Eagles, but demoralized them, 56-41, on the backs of a career 31-point performance by Haevyn Risley and a 23-of-34 effort from the charity stripe. But to truly turn their journey from one of eventual defeat into that of triumph, the Lady Cats needed to bring back home that state trophy. The guidance and wisdom given by the 2005 team was simple. “Don’t let the moment be bigger than itself,” recalled senior Avery Pennington. “They said, ‘You’re going to walk into that Alamodome and everything’s gonna be huge, but the court is the same length, the goal is 10-feet high. The only difference is the people in the stands for the other team. The same people that have cheered you on since you were little are in the stands.’ That brought comfort to me and helped me play with more confidence.” “They just told us to love each other and play for each other,” said Brinkley. “Don’t get caught up in being at state, but get

caught up in being with your friends. Focus on each other rather than everything else around us.” “It was cool talking to them and listening to their story,” said Morales. “They were a family like our team was and that’s the reason we came so far. It’s really hard to find a group of girls that all love each other, and we had that. Their story really inspired us.” For one person on the bench, the 2005 state tournament was not just a story being told second-hand, but was a personal memory and a learning experience—one that had set up the Lady Cats for so much success through the 2017 playoffs. “There’s 12 years removed,” said Richardson. “The only one on the bench that was the same was me. That’s it. The only one that had the experience of getting their butt kicked by Brock, was me. The thing I took from it was, just play. If you’re good enough to win, you will. There’s nothing you can do or say in the state championship game that you’re all of a sudden going to be a better team. There isn’t anything you can do with two days preparation. It all comes down to what you’ve done the previous years to set yourself up to win that game. It’s a process. Don’t overthink it. Just play.” As simple as it sounds, the formula was beyond successful. The Lady Cats demoralized their first opponent, No. 16 Goliad, like many of the 31 teams prior. In fact, they beat the Tigrettes by 15 points more than their season-average score by rebounding a season-high 51 times and forcing Goliad to 23-percent shooting from the field. That was impressive, but only set up Ca-

THE CANADIAN RECORD

nadian right where they had been before, in the state title game. At times, the outcome felt like it could be similar to a decade prior. Despite a relatively low ranking of No. 23, Buffalo kept the Lady Cats on their heels most of the game, including a lead as large as 7 near the end of the third quarter. But for all the worried eyes in the stands and back in Hemphill County, there wasn’t a single hint of fear, concern or hesitation on the Canadian bench. Instead, the Lady Cats cut at the lead, forcing Buffalo to beat them—something the Bison were incapable of doing, as their all-star point guard faced down an entire team of Lady Cats. Turnover after turnover, Canadian closed the gap, until a string of plays by all five girls forced another Buffalo turnover, that turned into a series of passes, that converted into a Pennington jumper to take the lead for good. “[In 2005], they had a deep team, like ours, that loved each other,” said Risley. “They didn’t want the result to come out like theirs. They had faith that we could do it. That got us over the top in believing in ourselves.” “We’ve never really changed anything dramatically, win or lose,” said Richardson. “That’s a positive thing. We knew the recipe we had was successful—we won a lot of games. Maybe just do those things better.” “Just go take it,” said Guthrie. “Believe in ourselves and have confidence. They wanted revenge, so we brought it back for them.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Although there was much knowledge to be gained from the 2005 trip to the state tournament, the 2017 Lady Cats had their own demons to quell. In 2014, it was the eventual state champion, the Wall Hawks that downed the Lady Cats in the regional semifinals, 4327. In 2015, it was Gruver that upended the Cats’ season in the regional final, 39-34. Then, last season, Canadian took an early exit in a 60-57 overtime loss to Panhandle. Many of this year’s seniors were a part of those losses, and they were beginning to feel a bit routine. So routine in fact, that after decimating their first two opponents in the Gruver Holiday Classic, the No. 1 Lady Cats were set to face off with No. 1 2A Claude—a new opportunity to show that this year’s team was different. The Lady Cats would no longer go quietly into the night. The first half had the right attitude to get the job done. Despite missing leading-scorer Haevyn Risley, the Lady Cats shot out to a doubledigit lead in the first two quarters, 23-13. Then, panic. The Lady Cats fell apart at the seams as the third quarter opened. “We played a little skittish,” said Morales. “We weren’t confident, at all. I felt like a seventh-grader playing basketball again. [Claude] played more confident and wanted it more. Who doesn’t want to beat Canadian? Everyone plays their best against Canadian.” “It wasn’t Claude, necessarily,” said Risley. “Something just didn’t seem right with us. We just broke ourselves down. We weren’t doing what we could to beat them. That’s what Coach always says, ‘They have to beat us.’ That’s a good motto for us, throughout the whole season.” Instead, the Lady Cats tore themselves apart, putting Claude in the double bonus in less than nine minutes with a season-high 28 fouls, and relinquished the lead with another season-high 24 turnovers. Canadian,

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

who normally averaged over 18 points off turnovers, picked up 2. Once again, in a big game against a big opponent, the Lady Cats just couldn’t get the job done, dropping the game 39-43. “We settled a little bit for being this good,” said Richardson. “Is this as good as we’re going to be? Settle for second place again? We made it to the championship game, but we’re not good enough to beat that championship team. It takes a lot more mental effort than people realize to win and win a championship.” “We were all so disappointed in the way we played against Claude,” continued Richardson. “Especially late. Our kids want to win, so bad. When there’s a challenge to that winning, that’s a mental thing—a hurdle to get over. We’ve had those games in the past. It just seems like we don’t fight enough when it matters. Going after loose balls, rebounds, yes, but it probably means more like not taking shots that we should have. Figuring out a way to beat the other team rather than beating ourselves.” “After that game,” said senior Kayla Brinkley, “we went into the locker room and Coach was so disappointed in us because we’re such a better team. We should have killed Claude—but we didn’t. We decided then that was the last time anybody was going to beat us. We wanted to win it all.” “We all felt that we should’ve won,” said Risley. “The past three years we’ve had a game like that. We were tired of feeling that. We could do it, but we didn’t. We were tired of feeling that disappointment.” That’s when it was time to make a change. “We did get our butts chewed out afterwards,” said Guthrie. “That set reality in. This isn’t us. We aren’t going to let the Claude game define us. That’s not how we’re going to go out. Coach Richardson said, ‘no more losses.’ That hit us, because it was district and it’s like, ‘we can’t take any more [losses].’”

Not only did they not take any more losses, but the Lady Cats plastered all five district opponents, twice an average of 6129, a margin of 11 points more than their predistrict slate. But playoffs would be different. Through seven games, the Lady Cats were going to get an all-out, nothing-to-lose effort from every team they faced. The regional quarterfinal versus Littlefield became a true test of what the Lady Cats had taken away from their experience. After quickly falling into a 13-point hole in the first quarter, the Lady Cats could have easily been dead in the water. Instead, a 20-point second frame built an unprecedented lead for Canadian that the Lady Cats refused to relinquish, turning a 13-point disadvantage into a 36-32 regional-qualifying victory. “Whenever we talk about the Claude game,” said senior Vanessa Guthrie, “we talk about that was our turning point. We’re not going to play like that anymore. We were all frustrated that we played that poorly. That was not us, and we knew that. Ever since that game, our mindset has been different. We focused on the little things, on our defense, making the easy shots, and not getting frustrated. They were trapping us and we freaked out. Since then, we’ve played cool. Obviously, it worked out.” “We had been that panicky team,” said Pennington, “And that obviously wasn’t working out for us. Let’s just try not to panic and see if that works for us. When we did that, and the other teams started to panic, it gave us more confidence. Seeing those girls from Wall get upset gave us the confidence that, yeah, we can do this. If we just play calm and play defense, we’re good.” Indeed, for years the Lady Cats had feasted on mentally-weak opponents that quickly folded after hot starts by Canadian’s superior talent. But once the Cats faced off with a team that simply refused to go away, panic would set in and the Lady

THE CANADIAN RECORD

Cats would defeat themselves with poor decision-making. The Littlefield victory marked a shift in that frame of mind, but the ensuing regional tournament put it on full display. Canadian started both games advantageously, but No. 19 Brock and No. 3 Wall are experienced. Neither would just outright quit. But every time the opposition would make a run to try and cut the lead, the Lady Cats would calmly retaliate with their own buckets. The composure was infuriating to their rivals—particularly Wall, whose players had tears running down their faces at the early realization that Canadian would not allow themselves to be rattled. That self assurance came in handy one final time for the state championship, as the Cats fell into a 7-point hole late. But as Canadian clawed their way back into contention, it was Buffalo that panicked, falling right into the Lady Cats’ hand. The rest is history. But for Canadian to finally earn that coveted state championship trophy, first they had to give up the one in Gruver. “The Claude loss was a big moment for our team,” said Richardson, “but it was also a big moment for our coaches. If these girls aren’t getting it done in this role, we’re going to have to find a new one for them. We made some changes in our lineup and substitutions that not only brought out the best in the starters, but brought out the best in our bench. That was huge. Chloe started every game [afterwards], but she probably played the same minutes she’d been playing. The energy she brought, especially in some of those district games, was huge. Avery played better off the bench than she had three years prior.” “You never want to take a loss,” continued Richardson. “I’d rather be 34-2, but we probably don’t win it all if we don’t have that loss. The changes made our team better.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

It takes a great deal of selflessness among elite talent to come away with a state championship. For the Lady Cats, who averaged more than 12 assists per game, that selfnessness is personified best by senior Kayla Brinkley. “That’s how we won,” said Brinkley, “because we played for each other. We didn’t play for me.” For all the gaudy numbers posted by the Lady Cats this season, Brinkley was hardly a stat hoarder. Her highest point-total during the season came early, on Nov. 18 in the Frenship tournament versus Dumas, where she scored 8. While she wasn’t making the highlight reel, the spark plug remained a consistent starter through much of the season, the key word being consistent. After scoring a little less than a field goal per game through pre-district, Brinkley compounded her scoring efforts in district by 28 percent and was 18 percent more efficient on offense. When she didn’t need to score in the postseason, the firecracker upped her assist totals by 43 percent and avoided a single offensively inefficient game through all seven matches. That made Brinkley the second assistleader for the Lady Cats. Make no mistake, though. Brinkley has the capability to be an unforeseen catastrophe for opponents when left unchecked. Spearman and Tulia took a combined 4-of5 treys early from her when they decided she wasn’t worth guarding. That kind of cool disposition is something every coach strives for in their point guard, but what Head Coach Kevin Richardson liked most in the senior was the grudge Brinkley held, game in and game out. “She played with an edge,” said Richardson. “A gritty player. She fouled [a lot]. She played hard. Tried to make plays. She just played with chippiness. That’s her personality. We needed that on our team—an irritant on the court, especially on the defensive end.” Every team likes to have an enforcer, but a 5-foot-4 intimidator is not something you see every day. Nevertheless, Brinkley not only fit that role consistently, but excelled in creating chaos for opponents. “In the Roosevelt game,” said Richardson, “she guarded their second-leading scorer, mostly a 3-point shooter. Just stayed in her area. Got under her skin. Irritated her. That girl didn’t play after the

THE CANADIAN RECORD

third quarter because Kayla had taken her completely out of the game by doing nothing but being irritating. It happened in the Buffalo game. She held the girl to 20 points. She wasn’t going to stop her, but with the last couple of possessions she fumbles it out of bounds, because Kayla’s running up on her acting like she’s going to play defense. It was subtle chippiness that we needed.” Brinkley credits the regional tournament for that success in the state championship. During a two-game demolition of No. 19 Brock and No. 3 Wall, Brinkley put together her highest two-game offensive efficiency rating of the playoffs at 11. And yet, despite the ferocity she and the rest of the team displayed through the two-game stretch, Brinkley credits a calm demeanor and refusal to panic as the primary contributors to their late-season success. “Coach was obviously nervous going into the regional tournament,” said Brinkley. “We all were. But Coach never let us know he was nervous. He wasn’t on the bench, writing up plays because he thought we were going to lose. Play your game, and you’re going to win.” “When we were playing Buffalo,” continued Brinkley, “We were down most of the time. We stayed calm, we played our game, and ended up winning. The regional tournament taught us how to play in bigger games, even if it was close.” The entire experience still hasn’t struck Brinkley yet. “I know we won state,” said Brinkley. “People will come up and tell me congratulations, but I don’t think it’s really hit me yet.” But the results are there. For the rest of time, a photo of Brinkley, with the rest of the 2017 Lady Cat basketball team, on the floor of the Alamodome, medals hanging from their necks, will hang in the Canadian locker room. The image will serve as inspiration for future rosters—a monumental achievement to aspire to. A reminder of what it takes to be great. But for Brinkley, the formula remains simple. “They need to continue to love each other,” said Brinkley. “Get close and remember that’s how we got where we did. That’s how we won, because we played for each other. We didn’t play for me. If they do that, they’ll be very successful.” Brinkley plans on continuing her education at Midwestern State, studying sociology.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Never underestimate the power of experience. In the most high-pressure of situations, senior and four-year veteran Avery Pennington played more cool than imaginable. With 43 seconds remaining in San Antonio, down by 1-point to the No. 23 underdog Bison, Pennington raced the length of the floor to break the press. Haevyn Risley launched the pass into Lady Cat territory where Pennington collected the rock, sidestepped a single defender, and delivered her patented short, turnaround, fadeaway. Any Canadian fan that had been watching the entire season knew the shot was good from the moment it left her hand. So did Pennington. “Everything we’ve worked for,” said Pennington, “everything I’ve worked for finally came all together. I didn’t even realize when I made that shot that it put us up. I just shot it and everyone was going crazy. I’m like, ‘What? We’re going to win. It’s going to be fine.’ People keep asking me what it felt like and I can’t even remember shooting the ball.” The 6,000 in attendance at the Alamodome remember, though, as the routine play bookended an unprecedented 7-point comeback and gave the Lady Cats their first state championship. “She didn’t think about it,” said Richardson. “She just took the shot. For her, I was ecstatic. It was a great moment.”

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

“It was so fitting that she hit that shot,” continued Richardson. “It’s such a great lesson for every kid that comes through our program from now on. You don’t have to be a starter. You just have to make a play when it needs to be made. She did. She hits the game-winning shot, coming off the bench, in a key moment. It made our whole team better. I’ll always be appreciative of her accepting that role and being the best at the role she possibly could be.” The certainty displayed by Pennington radiates throughout the team, and that confidence is not the result of recently being crowned the best in Texas. “Ever since first grade,” said Pennington, “we’ve all played together. Even the juniors. We’ve all played Y-ball or travel basketball together. This year, finally getting everybody together, it felt really cool. It was a meant-to-be thing.” It feels like Pennington always knew her destiny. Near as this writer could tell, she did. After watching the Lady Cats crumble in the Gruver Holiday Classic Championship to No. 1 Claude, it might have felt like new season, same results. Not for Pennington. Minutes after the disappointing loss, Pennington turned to me, locked eye contact, simply said, “We will not lose another game,” then walked away. Never call Pennington a liar.

After 18 games, despite some close calls, the Lady Cats remained perfect through the second half of the season, thanks in large part to increased production by Pennington. After scoring less than 5 points per game through the first 19 games, the 5-foot-10 center scored 7.5 through district. Along with her point totals growing, Pennington increased her rebounding, assists and steals 13 percent. Her offensive-efficiency rating also climbed from 7.9 to 13.8. “That doesn’t happen,” said Richardson. “Her mentality changed.” To top it all off, Pennington was also the team leader in blocked shots, notching more than a quarter of the Lady Cats’ intimidating 101 rejections. “We were all tired of getting second,” said Pennington. “Sophomore year, at the regional finals, we got beat by Gruver. Then, we lost to Panhandle last year. We didn’t do very well at the Frenship tournament this year, so we were just tired of losing. We were tired of people looking at us and saying, ‘Well, they’re a good team, but they don’t show up in the big games.’” Not anymore. Pennington was responsible for 79 field goals up to those last 43 seconds of her career, but with No. 80, she solidified the Lady Cats, no longer as the wannabes, but instead the apex of Texas high school girls basketball.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

“It just seems like another game that we won,” said Pennington. “It hasn’t sunk in that we’re state champions.” That’s because for two months, she already knew they were unbeatable in every moment of every game. And her prediction for the future of Lady Cat basketball is just as certain. “They know what it’s like to be a championship team now,” said Pennington. “We all led the team. It wasn’t just us five seniors. All 11 of us led the team at some point. They know how to lead and what it takes [to be a champion]. If they just relax and have fun, they’re going to be fine. As long as they’re having fun together, I don’t know what else you can ask.” Just take Pennington’s word for it. “I couldn’t ask for a better group of girls,” said Pennington. “I know that everyone says that. That’s like the No. 1 thing to say. Even if you don’t like the team, you still say that. But from the bottom of my heart, I could not picture myself playing with a better team.” Pennington plans on heading to Angelo State after graduation in order to pursue an education in kinesiology—appropriate after the agility displayed her senior year. After that, only she knows what’s around the corner.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

As strong as the tradition of championships is in Canadian, so is the value of family. For the 2017 Lady Cats, that value was challenged to a greater extent than it ever had been before. Two games into the playoffs, with the greatest test of No. 21 Littlefield looming on Tuesday, Head Coach Kevin Richardson’s middle son, Jacob, was caught in a volatile accident that left him with severe burns covering large portions of his legs. Of course, Richardson’s attention immediately turned to the needs of his child and away from the best chance Canadian has ever had of winning a state championship—the easiest decision a father could make. But for the program, facing their biggest challenge of the season, thus far, the potential for distraction loomed heavily. “Coach and his family mean the world to us,” said senior Haevyn Risley. “He wasn’t there for a few practices, and it just hit us that we have to do this, not just for us, but for him too—our whole coaching staff. It was hard, but it was hard seeing him like that, too. We were all emotional. He’s done a lot for us, so we just wanted to pay him back.” The players were going to have to do it without a lot of help from the program leader, but Richardson took comfort and trusted in his process. “It relaxed me, honestly,” said Richardson. “We hear all the time that it’s just a game. But, we all want to win. But it really took out all the distractions. Having your son in the ICU, having him in the burn unit, having him go through that, you don’t think about the games as much. I had to tell myself, ‘What you’ve done over the last 16

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

years is good enough. You’ve got to trust your players to do it. What you’ve done over the last year to develop this team is good enough to win. You just have to believe it.’” The game plan turned from minutiae into a generic strategy to simply let the Lady Cat talent do what they do best. “Do the very basics,” said Richardson. “What do they like to do, and let’s take that away from them. What do they do on defense and how do we exploit it? Don’t overthink it. That’s where I was at as a coach. We’re going to play the game.” As Richardson tended to his son 100 miles away from his team, it was left to assistant coaches Doug Boyd and Garrison Jones to implement the game plan. The tradition of excellent coaching remained equally strong. “I relied on my assistant coaches more than I ever have,” said Richardson. “They ran practices when we had big doctor visits. That was huge as a staff, to have that trust in them and they knew the game plan— exactly what the other team was going to do. They knew how to implement it and I’m thankful I have the staff that I do. The players trusted those assistant coaches.” Despite all the potential complications, the night of the big game came, and early on, it appeared the off-court concerns might have drowned the Cats. Littlefield jumped to a 17-4 lead and Canadian looked like their season had ended over the weekend. But the tragedy turned into a rallying cry. “We knew it was hard on Coach,” said senior Vanessa Guthrie. “He was going back and forth all the time. Let’s make it worth it. That would be terrible to go through all this and for it to not be worth it.”

“We decided we were going to play the regional qualifier for Jacob,” said senior Kayla Brinkley. “We knew he wanted to be there. He would rather us focus on the game, than focus on him. It motivated us a little bit to work harder for Coach. We had to do what we were supposed to do, or we were going to lose.” A 20-point second quarter surged the Lady Cats into the lead as they held on to upend their single-minded opponent, 3632. “If we have a young team,” said Richardson, “an immature team, a team without great leadership, we lose against Littlefield and it’s probably a blowout. They prepared the way they should prepare. They were mentally focused and ready to play. They didn’t let an outside distraction with me be the reason they played good or bad. They just went and played the game.” The journey was far from over, but the motivation remained consistent. Though Jacob would be unable to attend the regional tournament in Midland, two more victories would send the Lady Cats to San Antonio with the promise that he would be able to make the trip with his father. “Darcie said, ‘He wants y’all to bring home a state championship,’” said Guthrie. “We can go to that if y’all win [regionals]. For sure it was [motivation]. Let’s do this for Jacob. He wants it for his dad, he wants it for us.” “We’re getting this done, you’re getting out of the hospital, and you’re going to state with us,” said Pennington. “He’s a fighter and a strong kid. It was great.” Not only did the Lady Cats dominate the regional tournament, but their love and appreciation of each other and their coach-

THE CANADIAN RECORD

es poured out even more. After qualifying for state for only the second time in program history, how does the team celebrate but make the four-hour trip to Amarillo to share the news in person with Jacob. “Something about this year was different,” said Guthrie. “Coach’s attitude was different. Our attitude was different. I can’t even imagine what [Coach Richardson] was going through dealing with us, and with the playoffs, and with the tournament and Jacob. He handled it so well. You would have thought he was there for every practice when he couldn’t be. He’s an amazing coach.” As the clock struck zero, and Buffalo’s final prayer ricocheted from the rim, Jacob was there, on the Alamodome floor, embracing his father in a moment of elation as a coach and as parent. “This is about their time,” said Richardson. “This isn’t about me or Jacob. Our leadership was awesome. When we practiced, they were full in, whether I was there or not. That doesn’t happen with every team. You have to have that maturity. That’s set up through our program. No matter the distraction off the court, when you step between the lines, you play basketball. We’ve had a lot of distractions over the last four or five years with our teams, but our team this year was mature enough to handle it.” But for the players, it was about all of their family. “Seeing Coach in pain, Jacob in pain, Darcie hurting,” said Guthrie, “we hurt too. We prayed for them before and after every game and practice—any chance we could together. Prayers were answered. We’re just so thankful Jacob’s OK.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

Vanessa Guthrie is the definition of multi-threat. A three-year veteran on the varsity squad, Guthrie was an unforeseen hammer, driving nails into opponent coffins, one bucket at a time. In the state championship, with stud scorers Haevyn Risley and Emily Alexander being held in check throughout the third quarter, Guthrie refused to allow the Lady Cats to fall into a double-digit hole. She led Canadian through those eight minutes with 5 points and four rebounds. They aren’t eye-popping numbers, but when you win the 3A state championship, 51-49, those stats mean everything—especially when the eight total rebounds ended up being a season-high. “Everybody’s attention was on Haevyn,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “Everybody’s attention inside was on Emily. Who’s guarding her? Maybe the third or fourth best player, and she took advantage of it.” But it was Guthrie’s timing that was nothing short of miraculous. Any game that threatened to fall in favor of the opponent was flipped on its head by key Guthrie plays. “Such an unsung hero for our team,” said Richardson, “and clutch. The Roosevelt game was one where Vanessa ends up getting the key rebound, the key shot, making the key free throw, almost every time. She doesn’t get the headlines. She doesn’t get the storybook ending. She just made really clutch plays when we needed them.” “Vanessa saved our bacon again,” said

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Richardson. “We used that line a lot.” For Guthrie, the realization of being the best team in Texas still hasn’t quite set in. “When I think about it,” said Guthrie, “it’s like, ‘Did I really win a state championship?’ It’s just unreal. It’s been a dream since I was little, and the fact that we made it come true is just unbelievable.” Little is no generic statement, either. Guthrie has been balling ever since she could remember walking, and the constant work and practice paid off in the long run. The 5-foot-8 forward had plenty of length to work with, which made her a presence and a danger in close quarters. Guthrie was the third leading-scorer on the team with 8.2 points per game. She was also a dependable rebounder with 3.5 of the team’s 31 boards per game. That’s already a tough matchup, but Guthrie’s game hardly ends in the paint. She arguably was the best 3-point shooter on the state championship team, hitting a team-high 12. That’s a nice weapon to have, especially at a 31-percent success rate when you need it the most. In the regional championship versus No. 3 Wall, after the Lady Hawks had clamped down on leading-scorer Risley’s first 8 points, Guthrie made them pay with a frustrating 3 that broke the defending champions’ will minutes into the game. So where does such a multidimensional threat come from? It’s nice to have a little pedigree to your name. Vanessa came hot off the heels of older sister Nicole’s high school campaign in

2013, and though they were never on the roster at the same time, the siblings have spent plenty of time on the court together. “She’s a big part of my success,” said Guthrie. “She’ll watch film on [our opponent] and text me [with advice]. Whenever she’s in town, she’ll always ask to go to the gym with me. She’ll rebound for me, post up, foul me. We’ll play one-on-one, and it’s funny cause I’ll go harder on her than I do other people just because it’s Nicole. She’s always there for me and understands my frustrations. She doesn’t get mad, she’s understanding. I give her a lot of credit.” Vanessa even took on Nicole’s mantle of No. 25, which means only a Guthrie has worn the jerseys used in San Antonio. “You can tell, she still wants to be playing, she’s still caught up in it,” said Guthrie. “By winning the state championship, it was also her dream. With me, she felt a part of it too, as she should.” It’s going to be difficult to replace the all-around athlete for the Lady Cats. Vanessa filled a particular niche that isn’t easily found in your everyday high school player, though her official role was slow in developing, due to the considerable depth displayed by the Lady Cats the last several years. “[District is] when everything fell together and we got into this rhythm,” said Guthrie. “Before that, we were switching starters all the time, we didn’t know our positions, people were getting hurt, people were moving up and down—so everything was just out of place. In district, we really started to get the flow of things and see

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what our team could really do—what we were made of.” “She didn’t start the first 10 or 11 games,” said Richardson. “Her first start was against Wall, [Dec.3]. She played so well we had to leave her on the court. We had to figure out a role for her. Nobody at the beginning of the season envisioned starting three post players. It was great for her and our team. She blossomed in that role.” For Guthrie, district saw a 42 percent increase in scoring from 5.3 points per game to 7.5. Assist and steal production grew as well from 2.2 per game to 3.2. Then, when the postseason rolled around, Guthrie again increased production another 20 percent with 9 points per game and almost an entire rebound more, in each of the seven playoff matches. Her efforts earned her a spot on the all-region team. With that knowledge, Guthrie’s mantra to her successors rings ever more true. “Never give up,” said Guthrie. “Keep a positive attitude about everything. That’s what I learned from this year. If you stay positive, and you stay humble, you’re going to get rewarded. Keep going, keep pushing. When things are frustrating, when things are hard, keep pushing. I knew, no matter what, win or lose, I’m so thankful I got to play with these girls for so long. I’m never going to have a family like this again.” Guthrie plans on continuing her education at Tarleton State after graduating this year. Her major is undecided.

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

In a team saturated with senior talent, it would be hard to stand out as an underclassman, but junior Emily Alexander made it look effortless. Not that the post ever really wanted the spotlight. Alexander was just one of two players on the 2017 roster to average double figures a game at 12.9. She also led the team in blocked shots this season (26), total rebounds (223), offensive rebounds (125), free-throw makes (113), attempts (157) and accuracy (70%). She also collected the most points overall this season with 437, and even missed a pair of district games with a torn posterior cruciate ligament, but she played on the rest of the season. “She made a huge stride in her mental toughness from the end of last year to the beginning of this year,” said Head Coach Kevin Richardson. “She was a completely different player. Personality, aggressiveness, she was just a lot more dedicated to being a better basketball player. She got back to being who she was.” And yet, for all her proficiency throughout the season, Alexander remains one of the most humble athletes anyone could care to meet. “Thank the Lord it’s not me versus five other players,” said Alexander. “If that’s what it was, we’d be done. It doesn’t bother me to not have a high-efficiency rating. For the team to be successful, you have to be a team player. It’s not the Emily show or the Haevyn show or the Kayla show or Vanessa show. It’s the Lady Cat show.”

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

But for 31 victories, teams had to find a way to subdue the junior juggernaut, and failed miserably. Only seven teams managed to keep Alexander in single-digit scoring throughout the year and five allowed 20 points or more. “Every game, somebody else brings it up to the next level,” said Alexander. More often than not though, that was No. 32. Alexander was never afraid to take a game on her shoulders to urge the Lady Cats to victory. After taking their first loss of the season to Frenship, the Lady Cats were struggling to score against Midland Greenwood. After the Rangerettes took an early 8-2 lead, Alexander turned it up a notch, scoring 17 of her 21 points in eight minutes to retake the lead before the half. She scored 19 to lift the Lady Cats past top-ranked Wall in December and a season-high 25 in Shamrock, both with the absence of leading-scorer Haevyn Risley. But one of her greatest moments in leadership might have come after a loss. After dropping the Gruver Holiday Classic Championship to Claude, Alexander could be found in the gym the very next morning. “The next morning,” said Alexander, “I asked, ‘Does anybody want to go to the gym?’ Our legs were so dead, but Kayla and I went to the gym. We just talked. We didn’t put up 3,000 shots. We didn’t do 45 minutes of defensive footwork. We talked about what do we need to do. We need to improve

our relationship with God—with Him, anything’s possible. We need to hone our skills, whether that be ball handling, free-throw shooting, attitudes, encouragement to other players or coaches. We have to improve on something every day. The last couple of years, that’s been our pitfall. We got stagnant. This season, that’s not going to happen. We have to keep getting better and keep climbing that mountain.” And from there, the Lady Cats could not lose. For all the 17-point runs, 20-point individual games and epic comebacks, what Alexander will remember most is the losses, obstacles and hurdles. “I can’t tell you how thankful I am for all those bumps in the road,” said Alexander. “From Haevyn breaking her finger, to me tearing my PCL, all those little bumps in the road. The tight games, those games built us to be the way we are.” “It almost seems fitting our last game was the way it was against Buffalo,” said Alexander, “because this whole season has been a fight. We’ve had to overcome obstacles thrown in our path. Coach Boyd always tells me, ‘Ninety percent of things in life are not what happens to you, but how you react to them.’ That stuck with me this whole season. It doesn’t matter what happens to you, but how you react, progress, and what you do afterwards to change the situation. That Littlefield game and that Buffalo game proved to the state of Texas that we’re fighters. It doesn’t matter that we’re not playing our best game of basket-

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ball. Whatever game it is, we’re going to fight and play as best as we possibly can in that moment.” And Alexander isn’t done. The all-state tournament player will return for her senior campaign in November and the desire and will to win burns hotter than ever along with five other veterans. “Every year the team is different,” said Alexander. “This summer is just going to be a lot of hard work. It’s going to be a different year, a different team, different players, different roles, and that’s OK. It’ll give a lot of people the opportunity to step up and show what they’re made of. It’s going to be a great season of growth for a lot of players. I’m excited. I’m just trying to work as hard as I can. I saw what happens when you work really hard, so now I’m going to work really, really hard so we can do that next year too.” But as excited as Alexander is for 2018, she’s just as excited for 2027. “We believed in ourselves so much,” said Alexander. “We knew we would play for each other. I can’t tell you how much I love my teammates. Everything they’ve taught and given me and my coaches. We would battle our hearts out for each other because we love each other. Simple as that. I’m so excited to go back in 10 years and get the honor team at the state halftime. I can’t wait to see how successful my teammates are gonna be. I can’t wait to see the things that they’ll be doing and how their lives have changed.”

THE CANADIAN RECORD

COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

THURSDAY 23 MARCH 2017

2017 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE CANADIAN RECORD