Experience in high school athletics is an unparalleled asset.
2018-19 Lady Tigers Basketball
Date Site-Opponent Time Nov. 16 at Liberty-Eylau 5 p.m. Nov. 19 Pleasant Grove 4:30 p.m. Nov. 20 Winnsboro Noon Nov. 27 at Lancaster 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29-Dec. 1 Athens Tournament TBA Dec. 4 at Ashdown 6:15 p.m. Dec. 6-8 y-Great East Texas Shootout TBA Dec. 11 at Carthage 5 p.m. Dec. 18 at Ruston, La. 4:30 p.m. Dec. 21 at North Lamar 4:30 p.m. Dec. 27-29 Hallsville Tournament TBA Jan. 4 x-Greenville 5 p.m. Jan. 8 x-at Royse City 5 p.m. Jan. 11 x-Mount Pleasant 5 p.m. Jan. 15 x-Lindale 5 p.m. Jan. 18 x-at Sulphur Springs 5 p.m. Jan. 22 x-at Greenville 5 p.m. Jan. 25 x-Royse City 5 p.m. Jan. 29 x-at Mount Pleasant 5 p.m. Feb. 1 x-at Lindale 5 p.m. Feb. 5 x-Sulphur Springs 5 p.m. x-District 15-5A game. y-at Brownsboro.First-year-but-veteran Texas High head coach Shonda Wilson will have a plethora of experience on her roster this girls basketball season.
"We're going to play similar fashion to what we've been doing, but we want to continue getting better," Wilson said. "We want to be a better rebounding team and get better defensively. We still will play in transition, pushing the tempo up and down the court, but we also want to be better in the half-court.
"We've got nine seniors and two juniors coming back, and we're going to rely on that experience."
Antonia Porter, Mia Wilson, Maranda Miller and Vicki Willis are four-year lettermen for the Lady Tigers.
"Four of our seniors have played varsity all four years," Wilson said. We'll look for them to give us that spark and help with the younger players. I think we'll be all right as the season progresses; we knew we would have talent so we put together a tough schedule to get us ready."
Kerrighan Dunn, a junior, has played since her freshman year as well.
Senior Kiasyia Morrison and Dunn will split time at point guard.
Mia Wilson will start at the shooting guard, with Porter also occupying a shooting guard position, as well as possessing the ability to work into a post.
Miller will play a post for Texas High, and Willis can help at a hybrid guard-forward position. Brittany Kile is a shooting specialist, but she could miss a majority of the season with an injury.
"Versatility will be good for us; I'm expecting to carry 11 or 12 on the varsity roster," Wilson said. "These girls work really well together. They can read each other on the floor, and that's rare to have such a large group to be able to do that, especially this early."
Unique McBride, Amiyah Rone, Nia Wilson and Sadeya Finley add speed and can beef up the defense for the Tigers. Nia Wilson would sub in at a shooting guard, and the other three have the versatility to help wherever they're needed.
The Tigers continue their season today with a varsity-only contest at Liberty-Eylau. tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at the Rader Dome. Texas High will play in the the newly aligned District 15-5A with Greenville, Royse City, Mount Pleasant, Lindale and Sulphur Springs, with district play starting Jan. 4, 2019.
"When it comes to the new District, every games matters and we're not going to take anyone for granted," Wilson said. "The schools that haven't been in our district, we don't know what to expect from them, so we've got to prepare ourselves and take care of our business every night."