There’s a pretty unique and quite fascinating story playing out in the local sports scene.
It’s the saga of the Houston High School girls basketball team in the 2023-2024 season, and I’ve never seen or heard of anything like it.
When I was a kid, I liked the book, “The Little Engine that Could,” written and published by Arnold Munk in 1930. The famous story begins when the locomotive pulling a long train over a big mountain breaks down.
Multiple other large locomotives are then asked to take over, and they each find a reason to refuse. So a smaller engine is then asked and agrees to try. Despite the seemingly impossible odds, the Little Engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain while repeating the words, “I think I can.”
The current Lady Tigers squad reminds me of this story.
In her first season as HHS girls head coach, Micah Lee has had to deal with a gauntlet of strange (and unfortunate) circumstances leading to a roster that is – to say the least – minus anything resembling depth. In fact, Lee usually has only seven players at her disposal of late, and in one game last week had just six.
Six.
Do the math: Five are on the court at any given moment, so foul trouble would be, well, extremely troublesome. Thankfully, the Lady Tigers haven’t had to go 4-on-5 yet, but there are several games left to play.
And we’re talking about the entire HHS girls hoops program being made up of that number, which means there’s no JV team, which means there’s no chance for inexperienced young players to compete against similar peers. Nope, this season it’s all about getting out there and matching up with seniors and seasoned upperclassmen.
But those seven Lady Tigers have become like the Little Engine. They try their best without complaining or questioning, and it’s like they improve and move forward every time they set foot on the hardwood.
I’ve seen them play on several occasions this season, and in the most recent outings I’ve witnessed, it’s as if the circumstances have caused some of the girls to become different people – more grown up, more aware and far more competitive.
The bottom line is, each one of them is on a path to finish the season as a substantially better basketball player than they were in late November.
Since I feel the way I do about the story, I thought I’d share a few comments about each one. Let’s start with the juniors. All two of them. They’re the team’s only upperclassmen.
LACEY CAVANESS: Probably possessing the most experience of anyone on the team, she is a classic example of a steady player. As the squad’s point guard and floor leader, she makes few mistakes and is always up to the task of defending some good opposing player who represents an offensive threat.
She can see the whole court when she has the ball, and now and then, she can get hot from long range.
MAKINLEY AARON: As the team’s newcomer after transferring in during the offseason, she is a smart, hard-nosed player who can deliver points in a variety of ways and can also be a force on defense.
She can handle the ball well, rebound well, and is constantly moving without the ball, which is sort of a lost art these days in high school hoops.
And then there are the three sophomores.
KYNLEE WEAVER: Another player with a bit of experience, she obviously loves being on the court and isn’t afraid of contact. She can slash and drive, and can shoot from the outside, so she’ll usually produce more than a few points.
And make sure to protect the ball when she’s nearby, or you’ll lose it.
ASHLEY GILBERT: Speaking of and inexperienced player having to step up and occupy a key role in a varsity situation, she’s it. But her progress during the season has been remarkable.
After entering the campaign without much of foundation regarding to how to handle specific situations and what to do when the ball comes to her, she now drives to the hole, scores on a regular basis, and takes advantage of her height to grab rebounds in crowds and find the open outlet pass.
And she does it all wearing a determined looking “game face,” depicting a tremendous growth of confidence.
GRACYN MCNIELL: She’s an absolutely rock-solid player who came into the season as a raw set of materials in need of some shaping, but now takes over games at times with a fighting spirit and a relentless, tireless approach. She has become the team’s leading scorer and comes up with the big play time and again in crucial moments on both ends of the floor.
She would surely be a big asset even if the team had a deep roster.
And of course, there are the two freshmen.
HALLY SCHEETS: With her 6-foot frame, she has the tools to be an effective player on both ends of the floor.
Early on, it was obvious she had a lot to learn, and at times she looked sort of scared and confused by having the ball in her hands. Now, she has that same determined look, and clearly “wants the ball” on the offensive end and mixes it up on the defensive end without hesitation. She’s gotten a bunch of rebounds lately, has blocked some shots and basically made her presence known.
She’s another amazing example of a player developing confidence on the fly, and in a hurry.
SUMMER SEAGO: She’s a tremendous natural athlete who possesses rare speed and agility. After a decidedly slow start to the season, she’s now using those God-given attributes to become a player who must be reckoned with on offense and who buzzes around on defense, often causing turnovers or altering plays.
Watch for her to rise in the future, especially when she figures out how to make free throws on a regular basis.
For sure, these girls “think they can.”
All the while, Coach Lee is keeping her chin up and doing a great job of teaching her Little Team how to react, overcome and compete, and generally play better basketball. It’s a testament of her own talent and love for the game, and shows that she’s surely the right person for the job.
And really, that shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. She’s Thayer’s all-time leading scorer (with an eye-popping 2,123 points in her career) and is a tried-and-true basketball person.
Anyway, I don’t know what will transpire in terms of victories between now and the end of the season, and there might be a few more 40-point-plus losses in the offing.
But I don’t really care. My viewpoint of this Little Team is already set in stone, so to speak, and it’s nothing but positive.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.
