BMS Eighth Grade Girls' A Team wrap up season

Special to the Courier

The Bandera Middle School Eighth Grade Girls' A Team finished the season with a record of six wins and eight losses.
That statistic is misleading, however. Last year as seventh graders, the team started off the season by losing to Hondo 40-10 and lost to them another time late in the 2009-2010 season, 34-18. This year in the Hondo tournament the Eighth Grade Girls' A Team lost 29-25 in the championship to Hondo.
The girls have shown a consistent ability to close the gap on every team they've played over the last two years.
Coach Eric Thormaehlen commented, "In the two years that I have coached these girls, as both seventh and eighth graders, they have always played better against a team the second, third or even fourth time we have played them. They have shown great improvement over time in their skills and team play."
The eighth grade girls received a second place in the Bandera Tournament, losing to Boerne Middle School South 17-12 in a very defensively driven game.
The Eighth Grade A Team wrapped up the season with a loss to Boerne North 37-25, who beat them in the first half of the season 48-18. In the last game of the season against Boerne North, the girls were down 22-6 at the half but fought back to narrow the gap.
The highlight of the 2010-2011 year was beating Devine at the Hondo Tournament. Last year, this team lost to Devine three times, but in each game the score got a little bit closer. This year, the girls beat Devine 29-28 at the tournament.
Thormaehlen said, "I am a big believer in early failure leading to future success, and I believe that as this group goes on and continues to improve and work hard, they will find success at the greatest levels possible, not only on a court or field, but especially in life. I was fortunate to have the privilege of coaching these girls for two years and feel blessed to have helped them grow as basketball players and people."