Despite being called ‘undersized, inexperienced, and statistically unimpressive,’ by the Dallas Morning News, the girls’ varsity basketball team has once again made school history by advancing to the state championship after beating Cedar Park Vista Ridge 62-52 Thursday night in the state semifinal.

“It’s nice to still be playing,” head coach Ross Reedy said. “I couldn’t tell you so much about how it feels because at this point it’s the expectation that we continue to play. I can’t imagine what it felt like on the other end, so I’m glad I’m not feeling that. Really it just feels as it’s been because we’re going to continue to prepare and continue to think about our next opponent.”

Along with making school history, the girls have the chance to make district history as well. Only one other girls’ basketball team in the district has advanced to the state championship, with the Wakeland girls’ varsity team losing in the finals to Mansfield Timberview 55-39 in 2012. As a former girls’ varsity coach for the school and now an assistant athletic director for the district, Grace McDowell sees something more than a skilled team in the girls that have made the state championship.

“What’s special about this group? They’re not real big. They obviously can play, they’re very skilled. They can play great defense. But that really is not what makes them special,” McDowell said. “Just in observation and having known all these girls since they were in middle school, what makes them special is just the character they show on the court, the tenacity, their heart, the teamwork they show.”

The team started out slow in the game on Thursday, down 14-11 after the first quarter. A layup from junior guard Rebecca Lescay allowed the team to take the lead in the second quarter 16-15.

“There were certainly some times when we certainly should have gotten some stops, possessions without them getting so many offensive rebounds and certainly we could have handled the ball a little better, but we fought hard,” Reedy said. “We got put in a position late in the game where we thought we had made a couple plays but it ended up going the other way. So for us to be able to close it out, knock down some free throws, and ultimately take a close game and extend it back to ten late in the game, I think it says a lot about our kids’ character.”

The team’s lead extended after getting Vista Ridge in some foul trouble and definitive free throw shooting late in the game from freshman Randi Thompson.

“I was just thinking that I have to make these to make sure that we would be up by enough points so we would be up by enough points so we wouldn’t have to worry,” Thompson said.

The girls have one more game left in their historic run to state, and McDowell is confident that the team’s character and qualities is what has made the team successful thus far.

“They communicate positively with each other. You can watch a lot of teams today and you don’t see that,” McDowell said.  “They don’t react to officials. They are respectful to their coach, it’s just the class and character that they have on the court. It’s impressive and that’s what’s going to separate them. That’s why they’re here. There are a lot of skilled teams out there that have bigger players stronger faster, maybe better shooters, whatever. But that’s not what gets you to this point. It’s the intangibles.”