Stewart Johnson
With seven seniors on the roster, including several players with three or more years on varsity, the Carroll girls basketball team possesses plenty of veteran savvy. But it’s a second-year player who made the team as a freshman who has become the Lady Dragons' biggest offensive weapon.
Sophomore Camryn Tade leads the team in scoring (16.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.8 per game), and she has the most assists (44) and steals (46) as well. Her scoring is third best in the area among Class 6A girls players.
"She just has a knack for grabbing boards and scoring," Carroll coach Robyn McCoart says of her sophomore.
The skills of the Lady Dragons' upperclassmen create multiple scoring threats. Senior Kelsey Boyette (8.2 ppg), who recently signed with Southwestern University in Georgetown, is second in area 6A girls players with 51 baskets behind the arc this season. Kaelyn Riley (5.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Jordyn Sowell (4.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and Brittney Flexer (5.5 points, 3.0 assists per game) provide a spark and plenty of energy for the team. Flexer, a point guard that McCoart credits with controlling the offensive flow of the game, signed with Southern Missouri State.
SEASON UPDATE
With gritty defense, a wealth of varsity experience and reliable scoring, the Lady Dragons basketball team found themselves playing for a shot at the district crown entering its final week of regular-season competition. The playoffs were already a given, as Carroll has clinched a postseason berth for the past three years.
Carroll ended up finishing the regular season in second place in District 4-6A, posting a 9-2 record (19-6 overall) with one game remaining, trailing only district champion Keller (10-2). The hustle and defensive intensity that was displayed on the hardwood throughout the season has been the key to her team's success, McCoart says.
"Our strategy is always defense generates offense," says McCoart, whose team ranks third among Class 6A girls basketball teams in the Metroplex by holding opponents to an average of 34 points per game. "We don't have goals of how many points we score in a game. Our goals are more like, 'We want to get this many boards, hold them to this many points, get this many turnovers.'"
The Lady Dragons have held 14 opponents to 30 or fewer points this season, including a low of 20 points against Marcus, 23 when facing The Colony and 22 versus district foe Byron Nelson.
Carroll has continued to make strides each season under McCoart, improving on the 17-14 record from two years ago, and posting its first playoff win in five years last season. Entering the postseason, the Lady Dragons are hoping to notch additional wins this time around.
"I think it's about staying focused on the goals we've had all year," McCoart says.