Starting the first annual Dallas Mavericks Fall Classic with a 65-28 win against Denton High on Thursday, followed by a 36-26 win over McKinney on Friday morning, the girls’ basketball team advanced to the third round of the tournament before losing, falling to Amarillo 59-53 on Friday afternoon.

Rallying back against Lincoln 56-52 on Saturday morning in the fifth place bracket, the Redhawks weren’t able to bring home a final win against Prosper at Dr Pepper Arena, losing 47-41 in overtime and placing sixth in the tournament.  

“I felt very good about the tournament, obviously there were a couple games where we lost, but we saw good things in every game,” head girls’ basketball coach Ross Reedy said. “Considering the fact that we were down a few players, just to see our girls fight really hard and play five games with nine people is a tough thing to do, so I was really proud of our efforts. We know there are still a lot of things we have to correct and get better, but we know we’re going to get there so I’m excited about that.”  

Amarillo is currently ranked first in 5A, with Prosper fifth in 6A, yet senior Mara Casey saw the Redhawks having a chance despite their rankings.   

“I truly believe we could’ve beat Amarillo on Friday,” Casey said. “We made a couple mistakes and missed some vital shots in overtime.”

When it came time for their final game, the Redhawks were burnt out after playing three games with only nine players.

“For the Prosper game, I’d say the issue was that we were tired,” senior Makenzi Glover said. “Many of us played some long minutes in our previous games and it was evident against Prosper. They came out in a zone and we had a hard time executing our offensive looks.”

Nevertheless, Glover believes these losses have helped in preparing the girls for Allen High School’s Hoopfest tournament taking place Thursday-Saturday.   

“This tournament helped prepare us for the season because we got to play against four really good, ranked teams,” Glover said. “It definitely boosted our confidence and I know that we will do great things in our tournament next weekend.”