With eight members back from last year’s 20-13 playoff squad, and four new additions to the roster expected to make significant impacts, the Brownwood Lady Lions are looking to make even more noise in 2024-25 despite a larger – and tougher – district.
“Our expectations are very high this year,” said Lady Lions 16th-year head coach Heather Hohertz, who has guided the program to a 303-179 record in the first 15 seasons of her tenure with 14 playoff appearances. “We return the bulk of our team, we lost only one starter to graduation, and we’ve added a few new faces. The girls have been motivated and have been putting in work since we lost last year to Estacado in a heartbreaker in the playoffs.”
The Lady Lions almost erased a 14-point deficit in a 55-52 bi-district defeat a year ago, and the fire Brownwood showed at the end of that contest Hohertz hopes will carry into the entire 2024-25 campaign, which begins at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Eastland.
“This team is hungry and they want to be successful everyday,” Hohertz said. “They know we haven’t brought a gold ball home in six years and they want to break the drought. This team is made up of not just great athletes but great students. They are a great group of girls who will play and work for each other. I think they know the potential they have and they want to work and strive for that everyday.”
Among the returnees are Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State selection Hannah Deen (10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.8 assists per game in 2023-24), first-team all-district point guard Icess Hall (6.1 points, 3.2 assists, 2.5 steals, 2.3 rebounds per game), District 6-4A Sixth Man of the Year Trinity Roberts (7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds per game), and second-team all-district selection and team captain Kate Tindol (2 points, 5 rebounds per game), along with Nylah Hall, Miranda Northcutt, Rylie Schaffer, and Adyson Neel.
“This will be the third year for Icess to start at point guard and she’s our court leader, the quarterback of our team,” Hohertz said. “Kate is our team captain and our vocal leader, while Hannah led our team in points per game and rebounds per game. Trinity was the 6th Man of the Year in the district and she played big minutes as freshman last year.”
New additions to the roster include Arieseli Hernandez, Cassidy Brown, Jade Morin and Lanie Johnson.
“Arieseli and Cassidy played on a successful JV team last year and also saw minutes in our playoff game,” Hohertz said. “We also welcome transfers Jade Morin, who was a first-team all-district selection for Comanche last year, and Lanie Johnson from Miles, who was also a first-team all-district selection.”
Regarding the strengths of this year’s Lady Lions squad, Hohertz said, “We have more team speed than we’ve had in a while, and they play very hard. I was able to see that in our scrimmage against Wylie. We were able to switch defenses and get to the basket using our quickness. We’ll also have more depth this year, which is something we haven’t had in years past.”
Hohertz added that rebounding is the area she most wants to see improvement as the season moves along.
Following Tuesday’s opener at Eastland, the Lady Lions will play pre-district contests against Merkel, Sweetwater, Gorman, Jim Ned, Lampasas, Christoval, Burnet, Goldthwaite, Brady and Marble Falls, along with competing in the Hamilton and Lorena tournaments, as well as hosting the TexasBank Holiday Classic.
“I want to find the right combinations that work the best together,” Hohertz said of the goals for the pre-district slate. “I want to be able to change our defenses and be able to play faster and utilize our depth.”
Once District 6-4A action arrives on Jan. 3, the Lady Lions will again be facing Glen Rose, Stephenville, Graham and Mineral Wells, but now Brock has been added to the mix. Hohertz feels, however, the race for the district championship is open as its been in several seasons.
“Our district became even tougher with the new realignment and Brock moving up to 4A,” Hohertz said. “It will be a battle every night. I think the team who is coming together and playing their best basketball will be the team who will take District 6-4A.”
***
2024-25 BROWNWOOD LADY LIONS VARSITY BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
| Nov. 5 | at Eastland | 6:15 p.m. |
| Nov. 9 | at Merkel | 3:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 12 | at Sweetwater | 6:15 p.m. |
| Nov. 15 | at Gorman | 6 p.m. |
| Nov. 19 | Early | 6 p.m. |
| Nov. 21-23 | at Hamilton tournament | TBA |
| Nov. 26 | Jim Ned | 12:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 3 | Christoval | 6:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 5-7 | at Lorena tournament | TBA |
| Dec. 10 | Burnet | 6:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 13 | at Goldthwaite | 6:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 17 | at San Angelo Lake View | 6:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 20 | at Brady | 3:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 26-28 | TexasBank Holiday Classic | TBA |
| Dec. 31 | Marble Falls | Noon |
| Jan. 3 | at Mineral Wells* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 7 | Glen Rose* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 10 | at Stephenville* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 14 | Graham* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 17 | at Brock* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 21 | Mineral Wells* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 24 | at Glen Rose* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 28 | Stephenville* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Jan. 31 | at Graham* | 5:45 p.m. |
| Feb. 4 | Brock* | 5:45 p.m |
*District 6-4A Game