Girls basketball team wins state championship

Callie Boren, Fall Co-Editor-in-Chief|March 9, 2015

Tristen Hefner

Sophomore Angel Hayden shoots a free throw in the fourth quarter of the state championship game against Dallas Bryan Adams High School March 7.

Senior Brianne McDowell remembers looking up into the stands after losing to Hereford in district play and watching the crowd descend while chanting “Overrated! Overrated! Overrated!” As the team returned to their hotel in San Antonio, the chant could be heard through the halls, because for McDowell and her teammates, bringing home the school’s 17th state championship trophy doesn’t seem at all overrated.

The Lady Eagles finished their season March 7 with a victory over Bryan Adams High School in the 5A state championship. They ended the year with three losses, only one of which was against district opponent Hereford. After the defeat, the girls were ready to retreat to the locker room, but head coach Joe Lombard wasn’t.

“Coach Lombard made us stand there and listen to it,” McDowell said. “I think it gave us motivation to work harder and finish the season out strong.”

The Lady Eagles have a pattern of finishing strong. At the end of the first quarter of the championship game, they were ahead by only three points. By halftime, Canyon had raised the deficit to eight. Although Adams put up a fight in the fourth quarter, the Eagles finished the game on top with a final score of 48-41.

“We could have done things differently from time to time, but overall it was great,” senior Savannah Bartlett said. “It was a team effort, and we couldn’t have won without the determination and dedication from everyone. We really wanted it and played like it. I am so proud of each and every girl.”

The championship title is the first Canyon has earned as a 5A school as well as the first 5A state championship played in San Antonio rather than Austin. The Lady Eagles also won the last 4A championship in Austin in 2014. “Back-to-back state champions” is now printed on team t-shirts over the word “overrated,” which appears in much smaller text.

“For the rest of the season Coach would refer to us as that if we weren’t doing well, just to motivate us,” Bartlett said. “Now after winning state, it’s that much sweeter to hear the word ‘overrated.’”