Friday, Nov. 28, 2008

Lady Panthers Offense Up and Running

CHHS Girls Basketball

By Kevin Lonnquist

Staff Writer

Fans of the Colleyville Heritage girls basketball program have probably noticed a difference in the Lady Panther offense this year.

Unlike the team’s former deliberate approach that relied on a double and sometimes triple-post look, Colleyville Heritage’s offense has been altered to become more of an open-floor game.

The Lady Panthers were 4-3 going into their contest with Denton Ryan earlier this week. So far, Colleyville Heritage is averaging nearly 48 points per game and has scored at least 54 points in three games. That includes a 64-point effort against Cleburne on Nov. 21.

Lady Panthers coach Dianna Sager is taking advantage of sophomore speedster point guard Alexia Standish. Sager wants Standish to push the tempo to either drive or drop the ball into the low post to 6-foot-1 senior Bianca Patterson, 6-3 senior Libby Collyer or 6-1 sophomore Morgan Hunt.

In previous years, if the Lady Panthers scored 50 points, that would be a major offensive output.

"It’s just a personnel thing," Sager said. "We are so much quicker. We have kids who can score off the dribble and create their own shots."

There is a price that comes with this style – turnovers. Sager understands that. She said that if her team could keep turnovers below 20 per game, that would be acceptable. However, if the team surpasses that mark, the penalty will be sprints at the following practice.

"For the most part, we’ve handled everything pretty well," Sager said. "We’ve been around 14-15 turnovers. And I know there will be the long outlet passes that won’t work. But we’re good enough to do this."

Standish Attention Growing

Standish has started her season quickly by averaging 14.6 points per game. She has scored 18 or more points in three games.

So it isn’t any surprise that many well-established Division I college programs are already showing interest. Sager said she has already received offers from Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas A&M. Sager said there are several other programs that have Standish at the top of their recruiting list as well.

Standish’s stock took off because of an impressive freshman season, a strong summer program and the fact that she grew from 5-5 to 5-7.

"She’s drawing so much attention," Sager said. "She’s going to see this for the rest of her career, and I think she understands that she is going to have to get used to it."

Out of Nowhere

When Sager thought that Patterson and Hunt were going to be the cornerstones of her post offense, little did she suspect that Collyer was also going to emerge as an option.

Collyer worked diligently in the off-season on her game. She worked with a personal trainer, played on a summer league team and went to several camps. At 6-3, she can be an imposing presence for dribble penetration. Collyer is averaging about 2.5 blocks and five points per game.

"You can just see the confidence in her own play," Sager said. "She sets screens for our shooters very well and just understands the game very well. It’s just such an incredible difference to see."