Cisco girls basketball sees path to redemption after recent playoff losses
Braley Brunson and Brooklyn Hurtado got a taste of the Region II-2A girls basketball tournament their freshman year, thinking it would be an annual thing.
Yet after a loss in the region semifinals in 2021, Cisco hasn’t been back to the region tournament.
“It’s been very heartbreaking,” Brunson said. “Just getting to feel that freshman year and then not getting to feel it again was pretty hard.”
This is the last chance for the two seniors, and they might have the team to finally get back.
Cisco (20-5, 5-0) took over sole possession of the District 10-2A lead with a 51-21 victory over Haskell on Tuesday. The Lady Loboes wrap up the first half of league play at Hamlin on Friday.
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Lady Loboes reload
It’s no surprise that Brunson and Hurtado have played well this season. They were among five returning players from last season’s team and the only two returning starters. It’s hard to beat three years of experience.
Cisco always seems to reload, too, but there were some concerns after graduating five seniors from last year’s 26-7 team that lost to Lipan 50-43 in the second round of the playoffs.
Yet this team might be better than last year’s squad.
“We didn’t know that we would be. But our senior leadership is really good,” Cisco coach Brent Kilpatrick said. "Some of these kids who were pretty good last year have really come on. They’ve worked hard, and they’ve done really well.”
Brooklyn Speer, a junior forward, and sophomore guard/forward Pearson Hearne have stepped into starting roles and done well, as has sophomore point guard Katelynn Bailey.
Three other youngsters – freshman Jayla Pittman, freshman Madilee Steinberger and sophomore Bliss Pope – also play key roles along with Jaclyn Flores, the only other senior on the squad.
That’s a lot of young players, but Brunson has been impressed with how savvy they are. She said they play smart and handle playing on the big stage well.
“Part of it’s our program,” Kilpatrick said. “We get after them, and they’re ready to go by the time they get to high school. We’re a 2A school. We don’t have a lot of kids. They need them to be ready to help us as soon as they can.”
Senior leadership
Then there’s Brunson and Hurtado.
“Those two kids have played so many games,” Kilpatrick said. “They’re such good, culture program kids. They understand the way we run things, and they help the younger kids come along and they keep our culture intact. They love the way we do it.”
It helps that they all love playing together.
“We have really good team chemistry,” Hurtado said. “All of the players on this team are my best friends. I feel like we get along pretty good.”
They all play well together, too. Kilpatrick, who is in his ninth season at Cisco and 19th overall as a coach, says it’s that teamwork he considers his team's calling card.
“We always say, ‘Together,” when we break it out after anything we do,” he said. “We strive to play together and play for each other. That’s who we are and what we do. We play as hard as we can for each other and everyone on the team.”
The other side of that calling card has defense written on it.
“We have a little saying that we say before every game, and that’s to be the best defensive team we know,” Brunson said. “So, we try to live up to that. Everybody does their job. Everybody helps everybody out. We work as a team.”
All eyes on Lipan
Still, they’ve got to contend with No. 6 Nocona and No. 1 Lipan in Region II-2A, along with No. 19 Frost and No. 21 Muenster.
The path to the region tournament could get a little easier if Cisco can unseat two-time defending district champion Stamford for the league title. That would mean the Lady Loboes wouldn’t run into Nocona until the region quarterfinals and Lipan in the region finals.
Cisco, which has never reached the state tournament, shared the district title with Stamford last year but was the league’s No. 2 seed for the playoffs. Haskell (15-5, 4-1) appears to be the Lady Loboes' biggest threat in district.
Lipan has won state two of the last three years and eliminated the Lady Loboes in the playoffs each of the last two seasons.
Kilpatrick, though, said his team is prepared to play Lipan at any time.
“We’re ready,” he said. “We know we’ve got go through them to get where we want to go.”
Brunson said last year’s loss to Lipan still stings.
“Last year, the way it ended, it definitely left a bitter taste in our mouths,” she said. “We’re definitely using that to push us this year. We’re going to fight harder, do the best we can, and make it all the way, maybe.”
Hurtado agreed.
“It’s been heartbreaking, but we’ve got it this year,” she said. “I believe in us.”
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Cisco girls basketball team reloads for deep playoff run once again
