IWA girls basketball team putting together magical season ahead of playoffs

IWA girls basketball coach Malcolm Smith has had multiple reasons to feel good about the direction his basketball program is headed after advancing to the TAPPS state tournament last season and starting this year's playoff run as one of the top teams in the Coastal Bend with a 32-7 record.

In fact, the Angels begin the postseason winners of 27 of their last 29 games behind a core of experienced seniors and rising underclassmen.

Leading scorer Emma Romanczyk, who is one of five seniors on the team, said one of the reasons the team has been able to find success is because of the chemistry and bond the players share.

"As long as we keep doing what we're doing right now by working together, keeping our chemistry and playing as a team, then we're going to do great," said Romanczyk, who is averaging 15 points a game. "I hope we can go as far as possible.

"Getting to the final four was a learning experience and I think losing in the final four taught us that we are expected to get that far," Romanczyk added. "We can go even further if we work harder."

Romanczyk, alongside seniors Lily Brown and McKenna Lutz, have been close friends for several years, including the last four as members of the Angels.

The trio are hoping this is the year they can break through and win a state championship in their final season together. IWA is coming off a loss to rival Boerne Geneva in last year's state semifinal matchup and will likely face it again if the Angels were to make it back.

"I think this season has been so different because we're so close and the connections on the court are different from previous years," Lutz said. "That's something we've been trying to work on and since we've been able to achieve that, we've been able to connect in different ways."

Lutz said losing to Geneva was a learning experience that helped fuel the team this season.

The Angels overcame a 15 point deficit against Geneva in last year's state semifinal, and cut the lead to three before losing by eight.

Although IWA was unable to beat the Eagles during their two meetings this season, the team took steps to improve, especially after their second meeting on Feb. 9.

"We learned that you have to fight until the end," Lutz said. "I think it shows our ability to fight through adversity and we've shown that this year in games. We work best when we're together. That's what's going to take us the furthest."

The Angels endured an aggressive non-district schedule to prepare for the season, which included games against UIL schools London, San Diego, Gregory-Portland, West Oso, Calallen, Beeville, Miller, Alice and Sinton.

Eight of the UIL teams IWA faced this season made the playoffs with three of the teams still competing in the third round of the playoffs.

"This season has been one of our best," Lily Brown said. "Last year we started with a lot of big games and we beat teams we lost to last year. We've had a lot of encouragement as we've been going along. We're excited for playoffs because we've been really coming together."

Smith, the reigning Caller-Times All-South Texas Coach of the Year, has led IWA to the state tournament four times and can secure the program's 11th regional appearance with a win against Cypress Christian on Tuesday.

The Angels will have a chance to open the playoffs at home after finishing second in the TAPPS District 3-4A standings.

If IWA can advance back to the state tournament, it would be the first time in program history that the team has gone in two consecutive seasons.

"We have five of the six girls back from last year's team so we feel like we have a really good shot this year," Smith said. "We had a young lady come over from Calallen who is playing with us (Lily Hernandez) so we were able to offset the player we lost. We've had a really good year and we hope we can keep going. To go back-to-back with this group would be a great way to finish the season. Our girls are looking forward to it and it's been our goal from the beginning."

More: Coastal Bend girls high school basketball playoff scores, schedules

More: High School Girls Basketball: Area round recap for Corpus Christi and Coastal Bend

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: IWA girls basketball team putting together magical season ahead of playoffs