Burnet girls basketball sees positives in loss to Mason

CAPTION: Burnet senior Wrigley Mulhollan’s versatility in playing multiple positions was a big plus for the Lady Dawgs against Mason. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Burnet High School girls basketball team played in its season opener five days after having all its players.

That’s because some finished their commitment to the volleyball team Oct. 30 and made their way to the basketball court Nov. 1 for a shootaround.

One week later, the Lady Dawgs boarded a bus to take the trek to Mason to face the Cowgirls, who are ranked No. 7 in the Class 2A poll of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Mason prevailed 72-25 Nov. 8.

“We exposed a lot that I needed to see, and it gave me a lot of good information to go back to work and get it under control,” said new head coach Kim Payten, who is beginning her first year at the helm. “I actually had them for five days of practice. I’ve literally had them for five full practices, and one of those practices had to be cut short. So it’s really been just four.”

The Lady Dawgs were without sophomore power forward Emma Hashbarger. That meant moving other Lady Dawgs to different positions. Senior Wrigley Mulhollan, who was playing volleyball, took over in the paint and faced Mason senior center Anna-Marie Whitworth, an all-state selection who has several scholarship offers.

“Wrigley held that girl to six points in the first half and 16 in the game,” Payten said. “I could not have been more proud of her stepping up in that role.”

The coach was equally pleased with freshman forward Rowyn Mulhollan, Wrigley’s little sister.

“(Rowyn) really took charge of the game,” she said. “So I have a lot of positives to go along with some of the things that we need to fix. I took away more positives than negatives.”

Another was the number of Lady Dawgs who “knocked down some shots who have been kind of struggling.”

“With the exception of Wrigley (a returning letterman), I have some seniors on my team and a lot of young kids who are hungry,” the coach said. “So I’m excited about it.”

Payten said she looks forward to her players having more court time together so fans can see what they can really do. It’s very early for the players, who are learning a brand new system from a new head coach.

“They don’t have any chemistry,” she said. “They were kind of thrown together. And so I was just really proud of them. We have some work to do on defense. But in the second half, our defense came together and we did a lot better on filling help side.” 

The coach outlined how she is planning on helping her players. One is they’ll do film study where she will teach them how to break down film, how to take proper notes, and then how to apply what they’ve seen on video to the court.

“I think they need to understand because a lot of times kids pass the ball and the ball isn’t caught and both kids are looking at each other like ‘that’s your fault. No that’s your fault,'” she said. “And so I need them to understand how you get a turnover, what that turnover consists of, and how to make that better, so it doesn’t happen again. So we’re going to watch film and improve our IQ and know where we’re supposed to be.” 

Another individual imperative to the program’s success is Burnet Middle School coach Sonny Wilson, who has worked with Burnet’s children for years in youth leagues and select sports.

“I’m very blessed to have Sonny Wilson at the middle school,” Payten said. “We have work to do as far as increasing our knowledge and just the knowledge of the game itself and just playing basketball instead of going to a spot, and so we’re working on that. (Wilson) is a huge asset to the basketball program and Burnet. He’s got a huge amount of knowledge. And so he’s gonna get the younger kids in shape, and so hopefully we’ll change that.” 

Burnet will play in District 24-4A where the Lady Dawgs finished as the runner-up last year and lost to China Spring in the first round of the Class 4A Division I playoffs.

The Lady Dawgs are looking to continue another streak. They have advanced to the postseason for 17 consecutive years. The last time they didn’t was when they were members of District 25-4A, which would be Class 5A today.

“I think if everybody stays healthy, we can attack district,” Payten said. “And we’ll be good. I’m not going to say we’re going to go win it all, but I think we’ll be a contender in district. If everything comes together and everybody stays healthy and shots start falling and our defense gets better, I think that we’ll be in it for sure.” 

Another exciting part of the program? Burnet is one of the few teams in the district that has a freshman squad. The coach said it will have about 14 players.

“Which is a lot of kids,” she said. “I’m very excited about that. We have people in our district that don’t, and so that makes me hopeful that Burnet basketball is growing. And we’re going to be a contender. If not this year we will be in the future.”   

One trait that continues in the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District athletic department is no one coaches effort.

“One hundred percent,” Payten said. “They work hard. They’re good kids. I couldn’t ask for better kids. I don’t think I’ll ever have to worry about coaching effort. Overall, it was a good day.”  

The Lady Dawgs will travel to Stephenville Friday, Nov. 14, with the subvarsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow.

CAPTION: Burnet freshman guard Rowyn Mulhollan made her varsity debut for the Lady Dawgs against the Mason Cowgirls. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro