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Stepping up: Lionettes overcome odds, finish in postseason
By Richard C. White, rwhite@starlocalnews.com
The McKinney girls basketball season may have ended last week, but their accomplishments cannot be denied.
The Lionettes, who recently moved up to the 5A classification this school year due to district realignment, made the playoffs despite having the smallest roster in District 10-5A.
"I'm proud of our kids," said Debbie Harris, McKinney head coach. "I think we accomplished some things a lot of people didn't think we could accomplish. This is a close-knit group of kids that proved many people wrong by making the playoffs. They stayed focused on what was important to them. They knew that this program -- their basketball family -- believed in them."
"I'm not sure we reached our maximum potential," she said. "And I think our kids feel that way too and that's an encouraging thing as a coach moving forward. They have that mindset to get into the offseason and start working hard to see what we could do next year."
The Lionettes share their coach's sentiment that they had higher expectations than a first round exit.
"We have a lot of team chemistry and that showed during the games," said Mariah Mitchell, McKinney junior. "We had a really good season, but we just came up short. I feel like we really started to click in the middle of the season when we started getting ready for district. We all really bonded and connected as a team. It was really helpful."
The Lionettes were expected by many to struggle this season given their bigger, tougher district opponents. Harris, though, said her program's goal to make the postseason never wavered.
"It's crucial to instill those standards, otherwise nothing you do matters," she said. "Our team needs to be challenged and as coaches we're in the business of stretching kids and trying to put them in situations that will allow them to reach beyond what even they think they're capable of achieving. That's something we strive to do on a daily basis."
Mitchell said the underdog mindset was beneficial in pushing the Lionettes further.
"It was more about making a name for ourselves," she said. "By making to the playoffs we showed everybody we're a good 5A school no matter how small we are. This was a great team. Every player worked hard and was coachable."
McKinney is losing two seniors to graduation in Brittany Collard and Nicole Quincy.
"Brittany is always positive and always encouraging," Harris said. "She embraced her role and came to practice and worked her tail off. And Nicole was the glue that kept us together. She's a great kid who understands that game and just gets along with everybody. Their contributions were huge for our team."
The Lionettes will be returning two of their key pieces next season as juniors Mitchell and Jazsmin Nelson prepare for their upcoming senior season. All together, McKinney will have six seniors with playoff experience returning next year.
"Jazsmin and Mariah played more minutes on our team than anybody else did," Harris said. "They're crucial pieces to what we're trying to accomplish within our program. Next year is going to be a big year for us. I think this particular group of seniors is going to give it everything they've got in order to be successful both on and off the court."
While Harris is glad her players got to see their hard work payoff with a trip to the playoffs, Mitchell says the players wanted to make the postseason for their head coach.
"Coach Harris works hard for us and we wanted to show her our appreciation by making the playoffs," she said. "We wanted to always improve for her. It was good to make the playoffs because we overcame a lot since a lot of people saw us as the underdogs this season."
With many of her teammates returning, Mitchell is encouraged by the potential she sees in next year's team.
"I'm really looking forward to next season," she said. "We have so many seniors coming back next year. It will be good for us to connect again and see what we can do. I think we have a bright future."
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