| Ryan girls say they're next to win state title 01/18/2001 By Brian Davis / The Dallas Morning News The WNBA's motto, "We got next," sits well with the Denton Ryan girls basketball team.
Last year the Ryan boys basketball team made a name for itself by winning the Class 4A state championship. This year the Ryan girls, 17-6 and ranked No. 1 in The News' Class 4A area poll, believe it's their turn.
"We want state," leading scorer Matalya McBath said when asked of the team's goals.
Second-year Ryan coach LaTricia Trammell wants her team to think big. Last season, Ryan went 17-13 and gained valuable experience in advancing to the area round of the playoffs. Trammell said she believes the players also learned from watching their male counterparts advance to state.
"I'm glad [the boys] made it because these girls got to see what winning can do and that a team from Denton can go out and win the state tournament," Trammell said.
But Trammell is quick to point out that the Ryan girls team has its own identity. That identity begins with McBath.
The return of McBath from a season-ending knee injury a year ago has Ryan believing it can do anything. The senior guard, who had 21 points 11 rebounds and six assists in Tuesday's 62-39 victory over Denton, is showing hardly any sign of last season's torn anterior cruciate ligament that ended her season three games into district play.
"I don't think you can ever be back to your old self 100 percent after you blow out your knee, but I think I'm close," McBath said. "[Rehabilitating the injury] was tougher than anything I ever had to go through. There were times where the pain got to me and I wanted to give up, but I had to keep going."
McBath says she's still going, pushing herself harder than ever. The fruits of her labors are an 18.5-point scoring average and the opportunity to play collegiately next season in Denton at North Texas.
Although Trammell is obviously thrilled to have McBath healthy and back in the lineup, she also said she believes Ryan's other players grew stronger by playing without McBath last season.
"Last year when [McBath] got hurt, the other girls had to really pick it up," Trammell said. "It made them better players, and I think it helps Matalya have more confidence in her teammates."
Particularly improved for Ryan are 5-10 post Peyton Krueger and 5-5 guard Teneisha McKinney. Also contributing are guard Tiffany Martino, forward DeWana Peterson and post Erin Hallman.
The only senior among the top six, however, is McBath. Because of that, Ryan looks for leadership from her as it tries to make the school's first run at state in girls basketball.
"If you really have somebody to look up to, you know you're going to work harder for them," McKinney said. "But they're also usually going to work harder because you're looking up to them, so we're all just working really hard together."
The hard work is paying off on the floor, where Trammell believes her team has earned respect throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area because of its performance a season ago. Now the goal is to make that respect extend statewide.
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