Cathy Self-Morgan cut down the nets for the sixth time in her illustrious coaching career in Texas. She won her first MaxPreps girls team Coach of the Year award after leading the Pantherettes to a 42-0 record.
Graphic by Ryan Escobar
Cathy Self-Morgan has done it all coaching girls basketball in Texas. And beyond.
She's won 957 games (against just 199 losses), grabbed six state championships and has been selected to coach the McDonald's All-American game — twice.
Cathy Self-Morgan
Courtesy photo
But going 42-0? Never. For it, the
Duncanville (Texas) coach earned the MaxPreps Girls Coach of the Year honor.
The Pantherettes finished No. 2 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings and became the first 5A Texas team to win back-to-back titles in more than a decade.
Few thought Self-Morgan could actually get her team to perform at the level of the 2011-12 team that went 40-1 and won by the largest margin in a Class 5A title game — 38 points. Instead, the Pantherettes were even better while increasing their winning streak to 70 games, the longest in the nation. They didn't have a close game since a 69-61 win over Mansfield Timberview on Jan. 18.
They won playoff games by 30, 37, 36, 21, 19, 24 and 23 points in the championship, a 59-36 blowout over Steele behind 31 points from
Ariel Atkins and 20 by
Kiara Perry, who was named tournament MVP.
It was the eighth state title for Duncanville in 22 state tournaments. For Self-Morgan, who won her third state title at Duncanville after three at Westlake, this might have been her best team ever.
That would be saying something. She was selected the
MaxPreps Girls Basketball Coach of the Year earlier this year.
"They're up there," she told reporters. "They're a great group of kids. The city is proud of them, the school is proud of them, and there's a lot to be proud of."
Other coaches to be proud of considered for the award.
* Dennis Flannery (basketball) — The on-the-court accomplishments were noteworthy for
McClymonds (Oakland, Calif.), a school far more known for its boys basketball program that featured legends Bill Russell, Paul Silas and Joe Ellis. The Warriors (26-4) had a school record for wins, won their first Oakland Athletic League title in 37 years and their first CIF Northern California playoff game. But Flannery's work off the court was even more vital, pushing the girls in the classroom to a cumulative 3.34 grade point average. He and the Warriors were the subject of this
Transformations piece.
Cathy Self-Morgan pointed Duncanville in right
direction.
File photo by Jim Redman
She led
Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.) to an undefeated season (32-0) and state championship. Moore finished No. 1 in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Volleyball Rankings by winning 86 of 97 games while defeating three Florida state champions and Georgia 6A champ Walton.
* Penny Reece (softball) — The
Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.)
coach led the Gators (44-0) to the first unbeaten season state history
while also setting state marks for wins in a season and consecutive
victories. They outscored foes 377-24 to improve Reece's record to
534-148-1. She was the
MaxPreps National Softball Coach of the Year.
* Kevin Werth (softball) — Werth was named National Softball Coach of the Year by the National High School Athletic Coaches Association by leading
Piedra Vista (Farmington, N.M.) to the last eight Class 4A state championships. He has compiled a 313-86 record in 15 years at two schools.
* Zachary Young (volleyball) — In his first year as head coach — quite a feat — Young led
Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.) to a 40-0 season to win the Missouri Class 4 state title. Lafayette didn't lose a single game. He was the
MaxPreps National Volleyball Coach of the Year.
