It’s been a year of firsts for the varsity girls basketball team.

First they kicked off the season by taking second in the Greater Austin 5A tournament. Then, they opened district play with a 53-45 win over Vandegrift, their first victory over the Lady Vipers.

And now, they’ve made playoffs, for the first time in school history.

“District was pretty good, we lost games that we should’ve been able to pull out, but we made it to playoffs and that’s all that really matters,” junior Baylee Peck said. “Beating Vandegrift was probably the best win this year because we had never beaten them before and they’re our rivals.”

The December tournament finish was a strong motivator for the team.

“It made us hungry for more wins,” senior Katie Smith said. “And not only did we get second, but we also proved to ourselves and each other that we can beat better ranked teams if we put in our all.”

After going 14-6 in non-district play, the girls opened district with a win over Vandy.

“Beating Vandy was phenomenal,” senior Annie Wingard said. “They’ve always been able to hold past scores over our heads, but this year was different. We didn’t allow the typical ‘high school rivalry’ emotions to get the best of us, and because of that we got the win.”

Another highlight from district was the team’s first-round defeat of Cedar Park. After being on the coaching staff for the Lady Timberwolves for seven years, head coach Lori McDonald secured her first win over her former school.

“It’s been a personal goal of mine to beat my mentor,” McDonald said. “And the win was even sweeter because my girls simply out played them. It was the turning point of the season for us and Cedar Park. It gave us the confidence to realize what our potential was.”

The girls would go on to finish district 6-6, posting at least one win over every team except for Vista Ridge and Leander, who finished 1-2 in district play. The team finished district tied for third to qualify for playoffs for the first time.

“It’s really exciting, it was our goal for the past four, five years and to reach it has been great,” junior Korvette Phillips said. “Now we’ve set a new goal; to get as far as we can. I am really proud of the team.”

The girls played Austin Crockett Monday, Feb. 11 at Concordia University.