Back to state: IWA girls basketball team prepares for third state tournament in 5 seasons
The IWA girls basketball team has been waiting to play for a state championship since the 2020 season when the Angels featured a senior-heavy squad that put together an impressive 32-9 season.
Although this year's group is younger and less experienced, veteran head coach Malcom Smith has watched his team defy the odds and soar into the final four of the TAPPS Class 4A high school basketball playoffs.
“The girls have gone through a lot this year," Smith said. "We’ve gotten our tail whipped a few times, but we’ve hung through. We made it through district and only lost to Boerne Geneva. It’s an accomplishment."
From come-from-behind wins to dominating the opposition, the Angels will play for a state championship for the third time in five seasons against a familiar opponent in Boerne Geneva.
The district foes will clash for the fourth time this season, but with the stakes much higher when they meet in the state semifinals at 10 a.m. Thursday at Waco University High School.
“They’re good," Smith said of Boerne Geneva, who has won the previous three meetings. "We're not going to take anything away from them. The biggest thing when we last played them last was we just threw the ball away. We're going to try and come up with something different and throw them off a little bit... It’s going to be tough."
The Angels earned wins against Cypress Christian and Bay Area Christian to punch their ticket to Waco.
It will be IWA's third appearance in the TAPPS state tournament — all under Smith, who has led the Angels to 10 regional appearances in 12 seasons.
“It means a lot because we went in 2018 and 2020, but we’ve been down the last few years and haven’t had near the teams we had back then," Smith said. "The teams in 2018 and 2020 had seven seniors and 10 players who all played."
This year's IWA squad features one senior, four juniors, two sophomores and five freshman. What's also impressive about Smith's team is their ability to adapt quickly, and the development of their 3-point shooting.
Lily Brown, who Smith said is the team's best 3-point shooter, has provided a spark alongside Emma Romanczyk and other shooters on the team.
Kaylyn McCall, who transferred from Carroll, has been another key asset for the Angels and McKenna Lutz, who delivered a game-best 19 points in a regional championship win against Bay Area Christian.
"I was pumped," Smith said of the team celebrating their win against Bay Area Christian. "They were screaming, hollering and I remember back to the Kingsville tournament when we didn’t play very well. I told them, 'You’re better than last year and you are better than you think you are, you just have to go out there and prove it.'"
Smith said the turning point for the season came when the Angels trailed Schertz John Paul II 17-2 and came back to win 48-41. IWA went on to sweep the rest of its district other than its losses to Geneva.
IWA is hoping the fourth time will be the charm with a trip to the state championship game on the line.
"I told the girls we can make it to state," Smith said. "Then they started realizing they could. That's when we knew we had a chance."
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: IWA girls basketball team ready for challenge at state tournament
