By BRAD KEITH
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (February 20, 2017) — It’s not that Glen Rose is doing much different than when Stephenville beat the Lady Tigers twice in the regular season.
The Lady Tigers are just doing it all a lot better, says Stephenville head coach Alan Thorpe.
His No. 10 Honeybees (26-6) battle Glen Rose (24-7) in a Region I-4A quarterfinal at Tolar High School Tuesday at 6 p.m. The winner advances to the regional tournament to face Levelland or Bushland Friday at Lubbock Christian University.
“I’ve seen their playoff games, and (Glen Rose Coach Randy Ghazal) has seen ours,” Thorpe said. “They ran a couple things against other teams that they didn’t run against us, but basically we know they’re personnel and they know ours, and we know their tendencies and who to stop and they know our tendencies and who to stop.
“It ought to be a really good game. They’re playing really well right now.”
Good enough as the third-place team from District 8-4A to knock off 7-4A runner-up Mineral Wells, 55-52, in a true road game in the bi-district round, and good enough to eliminate 6-4A champ Burkburnett, 63-54, in area.
“They get a lot of put backs because they do a great job on the boards,” Thorpe said. “That, and they’re shooting it better from the outside than they were earlier, those are probably the biggest differences.”
As in the biggest differences from the regular season, when the Bees beat the Lady Tigers twice by 12 points – 38-26 in Stephenville and 48-36 in Glen Rose.
Of course, Stephenville, a 64-25 winner over Springtown, the third seed from 7-4A, and a 51-31 winner over longtime rival Brownwood, the champ 5-4A district champ, is playing well, too.
“I think our kids are playing well. You always want to peak at the right time and I think we have done that and are playing with a lot of confidence,” Thorpe said. “But I think if you asked (Coach Ghazal), he would feel the same way about his team.”
Versatile sophomore Jayci Morton was the star with 19 points in the easy bi-district win over Springtown. Junior guard Hailey Martin took center stage against Brownwood in the area round, burying five 3-pointers and finishing with 17 points. Martin opened up a double-digit lead with back-to-back triples in the third quarter and basically put the win on ice when she repeated that feat with consecutive shots from the left corner to stretch the lead to 16 midway through the fourth.
“That’s who we are and that’s what we need,” said Thorpe. “We’re really a guard-heavy team, and we always have been because we don’t usually have much size, and there’s nothing different about this team. But we have some good athletes, and they’re a scrappy group that will fight you for everything.”
On Tuesday they will fight for an area title against a familiar opponent.
“Obviously there is some confidence in seeing a team you know and have beat before, but you could also say there is some extra motivation for them because they are playing better and get the chance to prove they can get past a team that beat them before,” Thorpe said. “What I think it really shows is how tough our district was when you see both of us and Godley still going.”
No. 4 Godley, the district champ in 8-4A, eliminated perennial power Abilene Wylie in the area round, setting the stage for a regional quarterfinal showdown with No. 2 Kennedale. Tuesday marks their eighth straight regional quarterfinal appearance.
“We knew our district was going to be good the day the districts came out, and now you look up and you see us and Glen Rose, and of course Godley all still going, and it played out kind of exactly how a lot of people thought it would.”
Stephenville last advanced to the regional tournament in 2014, when they lost to Abilene Wylie in the regional semifinals. The Bees were edged by Kennedale in the regional final in 2013.
“The regional tournament is always a big goal, you can’t think about getting to state if you don’t get to the regional first,” said Thorpe. “But we can’t think about the regional until we get past Glen Rose, because that’s going to be tough to do.”
And tough for Glen Rose, too.
“It’s a situation, the way it has set up, where we’ve really scouted each other throughout the year, we know how each other has progressed throughout the season, we just know a lot about each other and what it will take,” Thorpe said. “It’s going to be a battle. I’m sure the gym will be packed and it will be a great atmosphere and a great game.”
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