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The time is now: Allen ready to make a run in 2012-13

BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@starlocalnews.com

Published: Monday, November 19, 2012 7:49 PM CST

The Allen girls basketball team hasn't made the playoffs in four years.

That run could very well end this season.

"We've openly talked about getting to the playoffs because these girls know the expectations of all the teams at Allen," said Sean Weibling, fourth-year Lady Eagles head coach. "We had the talent last year, we just lacked the experience. But this season we are confident in the talent we have and the girls are confident in their own abilities, plus we have that experience factor where the girls know what to expect every step of the way.

"When you factor all that in, anything less than the playoffs would be disappointing."

Allen is returning eight players (seniors Kaitlyn Packett, Tammara Turner, Rachel Piles, Kelsey Paul, juniors Anna Horowitz, Ericka May, Amanda Brown and sophomore Kayla Bise).

It could have been nine, but sophomore Gracie Doane recently moved.

Even without her, Weibling likes his suddenly-veteran squad.

"The kids have been with us for a while now," he said. "And you can see that they are older and wiser."

Though tournament time is usually when teams test new lineups, Allen has been fairly consistent by using Turner, Bise, Horowitz, May and Piles as the starters with Packett, sophomore McKenzie Martin and Paul providing plenty of minutes off the bench. The team would like to expand the latter group.

"We've been getting some great minutes from the bench, but we really want to expand the number of girls we can use," Weibling said. "We want to have a deep team, especially come district when you are going to have players that are injured and tired."

Early results indicate variety may be a strong point for Allen.

The Lady Eagles had different players lead in points (Martin), rebounds (Piles), assists (Horowitz) and steals (May) over the weekend at their season-opening tournament.

"It was great to see everyone contributing," Weibling said. "Martin is our 3-point specialist, but she did a good job getting to the rim; so did Ericka, she is so consistent about getting to the rim. Rachel and Anna had really good tournaments too."

The tournament in question was the Lady Eagle Hoopfest, which Allen hosted and placed second in after going 4-1.

"That was a big weekend for us," Weibling said. "We kind of needed to show ourselves and everyone else we could do it and I think we did against some tough teams."

Allen advanced to the semifinals with victories over Sherman (56-46), A&M Consolidated (63-37) and Irving MacArthur (69-61). The closest game of the weekend was in the semis as the Lady Eagles defeated Skyline, 50-49, after Horowitz drove the length of the court with six seconds left and dropped in a layup.

"Those MacArthur and Skyline wins were really big," Weibling said. "Especially that Skyline one because we blew a lead and had to overcome some adversity there. But that's what these tournaments are for; you want to see how your team is going to react when they are tired or encounter a tough situation."

Allen's winning ways were halted in the finals by district foe Plano West, 74-52.

Allen will be at a tournament in Royse City next weekend and travel to Ardmore, Okla. at the end of December for another event.

"That Oklahoma one should be a really good test for us," Weibling said. "We'll see a lot of teams that have really good shooting like Plano West and then several teams that have really good size like Plano (Senior), so it will almost be like a district preview."

With only six teams this season, the 10-5A slate doesn't start until Jan. 4.

Until that time, Allen has plenty of work to do. While the Lady Eagles look set at guard, much of the team's success may depend on their post play. That largely falls on the 6-foot-3 Piles, who signed with Davidson last week.

"Rachel had a really good summer," Weibling said. "She put on about 15 pounds of muscle and spent a lot of time at the 5, so she is more comfortable in the paint."

That advancement could portend a postseason return for the first time since 2008-09.

"It's all a process," Weibling said. "Our slogan for the season is brick by brick ... and we're getting there."

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