Goose Creek Memorial Lady Patriots Fills us in on Their Expectations After Last Years District Title

Fresh off a district title last season, the Goose Creek Memorial Lady Patriots worked even harder through rigorous offseason workouts, as they look to build upon last year’s success.
Alex Haymon, SR F :57 Last year we set a lot of goals and we pretty much met them all, this year we’re trying to strive over the goals we had last year :05 I’ve met goals that I never thought I’d meet, at least not this early, and overall it’s made me a better player, I feel way more confident on the floor than ever before
Razo 3:43 We’re gonna outwork our opponents, that’s been our motto since August, we were in the weight room 12 days before we even touched a basketball
First-year Head Coach Briceida Razo(Bree-SAY-dah RAH-zo) is pushing the Lady Patriots to reach even greater heights.
Razo :55 I’m very excited, it’s a great group of kids, they come in here and work hard every day
Kortney Wright, JR G :01 Transitioning from our old coach to the coach we have now, it’s completely different, we do more defense-wise, conditioning-wise, but it helps, we built more as a team
Ayla Clark, JR G :00 The work ethic has to be up there and it’s been a good experience for a new coach, I really love her
Adversity quickly hit this team once the regular season began, however. Senior co-captain Gabby Cantu suffered a serious knee injury just minutes into the Lady Patriots season-opener, sidelining one of the leaders of this team.
Gabby Cantu, SR G :05 I went to the ground, I knew what happened immediately bc I’ve done it before and it’s just really tough being on the sidelines when you know you can really help your team
Haymon 2:44 That took a toll on me bc not only is she my point guard, she’s my best friend, it made me feel like I had more weight on my shoulders bc between me and her were the only two starting seniors
Razo 2:19 It was tough for my kids, we worked so hard in the offseason...but we’ve adjusted, we’ve had our younger kids step up and they’re accepting their roles and they’re taking care of business
Cantu still maintains an important leadership role for Goose Creek Memorial. She’s a vocal presence on the sidelines and bench supporting her teammates.
Razo 2:36 She’s been great to have on the bench, she keeps the energy on the bench, and she knows the game, so the younger kids are lucky to have her there for support
Gabby Cantu, SR G :19 I have to bring energy to the bench, like the energy I bring to the game, I need to bring to the bench and lift us up when we’re down
Kortney Wright, JR G 2:59 I feel like we all play for her since she can’t play, if anything, we leave our hearts on the floor bc we know if it was Gabby she’d do the same thing for us
The Lady Patriots have responded to the setback, beginning the season 8-3 heading into a tournament in the Austin-area this weekend, and they feel confident with district play looming right around the corner.
Razo 4:49 We do have the winning mentality, I think it’s huge, kids that are hungry and know what it feels like, that’s huge, it brings a whole lot more to the program 6:26 We’re definitely looking to defend our district championship, we’re looking to finish in first place in our district, that’s our standard bc that’s what they did last year