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Sachse girls rounding into form
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
The Sachse girls basketball team made history last season by advancing to the Class 5A Region II championship game for the first time in school history.
Achieving that level of success raises the bar for the program, but it is not easy to duplicate, especially with a number of new faces.
The Mustangs have taken some lumps during the first two months, but they are showing glimpses of a team that is starting to hit its peak.
"Our pre-district schedule provided an opportunity for our team to start to jell and find our new identity," Sachse head coach Donna McCullough said. "We graduated seven players and two decided not to play so we basically have a brand new team."
With an influx of new players, the team has relied heavily on Monica Dorsey and Lorian Benjamin, the team's two returning starters from last year's squad.
In addition to taking on scoring responsibilities, the Mustangs have also leaned on that duo to provide examples on defense, which was the team's backbone last year.
Moriah Reed and Cynthia Matthews are other players who were members on the varsity last season that have taken on larger roles.
Among the newcomers are guards Leah Crouse and MaKyla Isler. Freshman Courtney Blankenship has made an immediate impact in the post, while Nekiya Jackson and Alexis Rene have also contributed inside.
McCullough said one of the main points of emphasis early in the season was to work on the halfcourt offense and it seems to be coming around, as the Mustangs have averaged better than 64 points in their last five games.
Sachse has a chance to take over sole possession of third place in 11-5A with a victory on Friday against Naaman Forest. But win or lose, the Mustangs plan on being in the thick of things until the end of the regular season and beyond.
"We always expect to have a very successful district season and compete for a playoff berth," McCullough said. "Our district is tough so it will not be easy, but our team is getting better every day and continues to work toward a high finish."
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