Lady Wolverines have state title goals

TEXICO — 2016 wasn’t all that long ago.

It was as not-too-distant in the past for most of the current Texico girls basketball players to remember what it felt like to win a state championship, whether they were on the court at the time or not. Denied last year when their state playoff run came to a crashing 69-44 halt against eventual state champ Tohatchi, the Lady Wolverines are ready to push all the way through this winter.

“It was a little bit of a bitter taste in their mouths after that. They would really like to get back and get another shot at it,” said Richard Luscombe, now in his 29th season coaching basketball at Texico, his sixth as girls head coach.

“I think last year we didn’t come together as a team,” Texico senior forward Maryelle Dickerman said. “Not necessarily that we weren’t ready to play. We didn’t expect that outcome (against Tohatchi) at all.”

“I think last year we kind of struggled coming together when we were down,” senior post Mackenzie Haakma said. “We realized if we’re up or down, we have to get back in it, stay focused.”

So far, so good. The Lady Wolves opened with a 50-39 road win at Farwell on Tuesday night, and head into today’s Strength and Sass Shootout at Clovis High School with a 1-0 record.

Yes, there’s a long, long road ahead of them. But the Lady Wolves seem to be on track toward at least competing for the state crown they want so badly.

“I’m excited about where I believe we’ll be at,” Luscombe said. “We’re only about a week out of volleyball, and I think they’re doing things well. They picked up our system really quickly. So yes, I am optimistic.”

It also helps that Luscombe lost only one starter — Jasmine Gannon — from last year’s 21-win team. “We’ve got a bunch of kids back that had a lot of minutes,” he said.

Among them are Dickerman and Haakma (both 5’9”); senior guards Kaylee Miller (5’6”) and Mackenzie Clark (5’8”); junior guards Baylee Sours and Jasmine Davalos (both 5’6”); junior post Alex Hill (5’9”); sophomore forward Ashley Hill (5’9”); and sophomore guard Riley Thompson (5’8”), among others.

Luscombe is confident in all his players, in their abilities to play their roles, contribute to a state tournament run. Even the sophomores, Luscombe says, should be rotation regulars.

“They were quite a bit (Tuesday) night,” he said, “and will continue to be.”

The players know how to get down to business, know how to be tough when needed. They’re already steeling their resolve for a state title run.

“We don’t have to be best friends,” Dickerman said, “but we know once we get on the court, we have to come together as a team. ... Each and every girl here is willing to work hard.”

As they take those early steps forward, the Lady Wolverines are looking like a team with championship swagger. And for good reason — much of the roster, including Dickerman and Haakma, were cogs in Texico’s fourth straight 3-A volleyball championship, won last month in Rio Rancho.

“All of them were part of several state volleyball championship teams,” Luscombe said. “So it’s not like they’ve never been in (big state tournament) situations before.”

They’ve had the ultimate success in basketball fairly recently. They’ve had that success year after year in volleyball. They know they can achieve it again this basketball season.

“I think we’ll end up being really good,” Haakma said. “Our goal is to be state champions, but it’ll take a lot to get there. We still have a long way to go, a lot of season left.”