Senior Night win snags playoffs

It was an emotional night last Friday for the Wimberley Lady Texans Basketball team as the team squared off with the Bandera Lady Bulldogs.

For Cloe Garrison, Ahri Arroyo, Hannah Peterson and Aubrey Schoenert, it was the final time the four seniors were going to play in Texan Gym in front of the Wimberley faithful.

But it wasn’t just senior night that added to the pressure. A berth to the playoffs was also on the on the line as Wimberley hoped to clinch their first playoff berth since the 2016-2017 season and their highest playoff seed since 2015-2016 season.

“The girls were excited,” Head Basketball Coach Caleb Hall said after the game. “With an opportunity to be a top three team in the district, and to clinch a playoff spot. That’s something this team has been waiting on to happen for the last three years…. tonight, we were hungry for it cause, goodnight, they came out on fire.”

And catch fire they did.

The Lady Texans jumped all over Bandera from the start as Wimberley domi nated the first quarter and took a controlling 23-7 lead.

But the fast start didn’t stop there. Wimberley continued to dominate the Lady Bulldogs up and down the court with a dominate full court press and an opportunistic offense.

“Tonight, it didn’t seem to matter what the rotation was,” Hall said. “43 points in a half regardless of who was out there is just absolutely impressive. We’ve worked on a lot of things, what it takes to score and create scoring opportunities. Tonight, they really seemed to buy in those principles.”

By the halftime the Lady Texans went up Bandera 43-16.

Though the offense slowed down in the second half, the defense continued to dominate the Bandera offense. Allowing just 24 points during the two quarters, the Lady Texans rode the defensive effort of its team effort and cruised to an emotional 61-40 win.

With their win over Bandera and a Canyon Lake loss to Boerne, Wimberley is official in the playoffs as the third seed. For many of the players, including the seniors, this will be their first playoff basketball game.

“The important thing is to continue to preach the same message,” Hall said. “That instills a confidence in the kids that what you have done throughout the season to be successful will continue to be successful in the playoffs. The message doesn’t change. It’s another game you got to show and you got to get after it.”

Wimberley ends the regular season on the road against Boerne.