Tigers using 40-point loss as a learning experience
SAN ANTONIO — Three years ago, the Wharton Tigers won two games.
Their meteoric climb to the girls basketball state tournament came to a screeching halt in the semifinals Friday afternoon against Argyle. Wharton was no match for the twotime defending Class 4A champions, losing 71-31 at the Alamodome.
But afterward, the Tigers and their coach were still just as much caught up in the moment of where they were compared to the disappointment of at no point being in the contest.
“We’ve never been to the regional tournament (before this season) much less to the state tournament. It’s all new — the whole feeling,” said Wharton coach Jonathan Gibson, who is in his sixth season, compared with the 44 of Argyle’s Skip Townsend.
“There will be a lot of things hopefully when it all settles down to look back and think and grow on and make adjustments for next year, but that’s by far the best team I’ve ever seen in my six years of coaching.”
Argyle (35-3) more than played the part of an experienced powerhouse looking for another title. The Eagles have yet to lose in the Alamodome, winning the last two 4A titles after falling to Waco La Vega in Austin at the Erwin Center in the 2014 championship game.
The core of this season’s Eagles have been on the big stage for all four years.
Vivian Gray, the 4A finals MVP in 2015, nearly had a double-double by halftime. Gabby Standifer, the MVP last year as a sophomore, made three 3-pointers in the first quarter as Argyle raced to an 18-3 lead.
“It’s definitely an advantage to you if you’ve been down here and played down here a lot,” said Townsend, who has more than 1,000 career wins and nine state titles. “And it’s not just the 32 minutes on the basketball court.”
The lead ballooned to 32 points at halftime, and Akaih Terrell-Randall was the only Wharton player able to score in the first two quarters. She hit three 3-pointers — Wharton did little against the taller Eagles — and finished with 15 points.
Argyle (36-2) outrebounded Wharton 49-36 and got scoring from 11 different players.
The Eagles go for their fifth title overall on Saturday against Liberty Hill (36-2). The 4A final, which starts at 7 p.m., will be a rematch of last year’s state championship game.
Wharton ends its season at 32-7, a second 30-win campaign coming on the heels of the Tigers winning just eight games total from 2012-14. They lost in the first round of the playoffs in Gibson’s first year and in the second round last season.