Andrews' record setting win leads the week in Texas basketball

They don't come much more understated than Granbury girls coach Leta Andrews, even after she won her 1,334th career game this past week in a 62-43 decision over Midlothian to become the nation's winningest high school basketball coach for either boys or girls.

After all, Andrews is still the one who gathers up the players' laundry and makes sure the uniforms are crisp and clean for the next game. It is Andrews' husband, David, who still revs up the bus and drives the players to the various gymnasiums where they play.

But for the one night of Dec. 7, the spotlight was on Andrews, whether she relished it or not. Fans chanted her name as the seconds ticked off the clock. Once the final buzzer sounded, jubilant players lifted Andrews and carried her to midcourt, where the coach told a capacity home crowd, "It has been a wonderful ride."

One assumes she was talking about her incredible career, not the escorted lift from the bench to midcourt. The emotion of it all finally caught up to the coach as tears streamed down her face and more than 20 former Lady Pirates joined Andrews on the court.

"I have the best job of anybody in the world," she simply stated.

Andrews played for Granbury in the 1950s and including her coaching has been at the school for 23 years. She won a state championship while coaching at Corpus Christi Calallen in 1990. Andrews is a member of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Interestingly, she had three chances to get the milestone win at the Cowtown Classic at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth on a court named for Robert Hughes, the legendary coach at Fort Worth Dunbar and previous winningest coach in the nation at 1,333. While the team could not accomplish the feat in Fort Worth, it did so back home on a court that bears Andrews' name.

BRADYS HAVE EMOTIONAL HOMECOMING
When Michael Brady Jr. participated in the Gene Messer Shootout in Wolfforth along with his Cooper (Abilene) teammates, he had one extra set of very important eyes on him in the stands.

For the first time in about a year, Michael Brady Sr., a staff sergeant in the Air Force stationed in South Korea, watched his son play ball. Brady Jr. told reporters, "He usually hugs me after a game. After that, he gave me a firm handshake and said, ‘You played amazing.'"

Brady Sr. has some three months off and is looking forward to watching his son play basketball. The fact that the first time to see him came during the holiday season made everything more special.

The 6-6 senior did not disappoint during the tournament in scoring 20, 31 and 27 points.

BALL GETS BY
Ball (Galveston), the No. 1 ranked boys team in Class 4A, had its hands full before winning the Nederland Bulldog Classic in an exciting 82-80 decision over Class 3A No. 9 Silsbee. The Tigers' D.C. Stallworth launched a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer that rimmed out and kept Ball unbeaten on the year. Stallworth finished with 21 points

YATES GETS TEST FROM MADISON
Yates (Houston) picked up its 66th consecutive win but not without a fight from Houston Madison. Yates took a 101-86 decision, but the score was knotted at 65 after three quarters before the Lions blitzed Madison with a 36-point fourth quarter.

BAILEY REACHES COACHING MILESTONE
Congratulations to Franklin (El Paso) boys coach Carl Bailey, who notched career win No. 300 with a 70-57 win over El Paso Bel Air.

MILLER HAS A HUGE NIGHT
Carter's (Dallas) Phillip Miller put on a scoring display for the ages by netting 64 points (yes, 64 points) in a 113-42 win over Dallas Thomas Jefferson.

Tournament Championship Results:

BOYS
Axtell Christmas Classic — Hubbard 54, Troy 44
Big Sandy Tournament — West Rusk (New London) 43, Como-Pickton 42 (OT)
Brownsville ISD Tournament — Rowe (McAllen) 77, Harlingen 50
Cap Herman Tournament — Roxton 78, Pattonville Prairiland 59
Catclaw Classic — Trinity Christian (Lubbock) 51, Abilene Wylie 31
Chico Tournament — Midway (Henrietta) 61, Wichita Falls City View 46
Chucky Seaman Memorial Basketball Marathon — Hardin-Jefferson (Sour Lake) 71, Cayuga 52
Clint Mountain View Tournament — Riverside (El Paso) 53, El Paso Socorro 52
Coach Smith Memorial Tournament — Liberty Hill 56, Salado 42
Decatur Tournament — Decatur 52, Denton Ryan 44
Dimmitt Tournament — Bushland 74, Friona 46
Fairfield Tournament — Melissa 80, Waco High 55
Fort Davis Mile High Tournament — Marfa 44, Fort Davis 38
Freeman Parish Invitational Tournament — Chapel Hill (Mount Pleasant) 73, Sulphur Springs North Hopkins 41
Frost Tournament — Life School (Red Oak) 46, Frost 41
Granbury Tournament — Keller 52, Killeen 47
Grandfalls-Royalty Tournament — Odessa Warriors 48, Dell City 43
Great East Texas Shootout — Crandall 54, Grapeland 46
Gregory-Portland Tournament — Estacado (Lubbock) 78, Gregory-Portland 36
Gunslinger Classic — Liberty-Eylau (Texarkana) 72, New Boston 56
Hamlin Tournament — Bronte 31, Seymour 24
Hawk Nation Shootout — Central Heights (Nacogdoches) 50, Trinity Christian 32
Hays Rebel Classic — Leander 57, Copperas Cove 40
Leroy Romines Hoopfest — Tyler 74, Nacogdoches 46
Meadow Invitational Tournament — Meadow 59, Lenorah Grady 54
Miles Super Ribs Tournament — Eula (Clyde) 67, Miles 47
Monahans Sandhills Classic — Greenwood (Midland) 55, Big Spring 53 (OT)
New Deal Mean Green Classic — Floydada 80, Hale Center 74
Peaster Tournament — Brock 46, Lorena 42
Pflugerville Tournament — Ellison (Killeen) 74, Pflugerville 71
Plains Tournament — Muleshoe 66, Plains 53
Poolville Tournament — Paradise 75, Nocona 50
Port Isabel Tournament — Mercedes 69, Mission 50
Pride of Texas Tournament — Friendswood 49, Corpus Christi West Oso 31
Redwater Invitational — Umpire (Ark.) 69, Maud 45
Santa Maria Tournament — San Isidro 44, Santa Maria 33
Scott Bagg Invitational — Kennedale 77, Sanger 54
Sharyland Diamondback Classic — Edinburg 67, Mission Sharyland 57
Splendora Tournament — Magnolia 67, New Waverly 55
Spring Hill Tournament — Marshall 69, Hallsville 59
Stanton Hooptown Classic — Stanton 63, Merkel 59
Streater Smith/Schurr Insurance Holiday Classic — Bryan Rudder d. Tomball
Tall City Oilman's Tournament — La Marque 53, Amarillo 35
Union Square Bulldog Classic — Burkburnett 85, Lawton (OK) Eisenhower 50
Vernon Invitational (Maroon Bracket) — Caprock (Amarillo) 61, Vernon 46
Vernon Invitational (Silver Bracket) — Memphis 52, Vernon JV 48
Water Valley Tournament — Iraan 73, Water Valley 61
West Kolache Classic — Groesbeck 49, Grandview 35
West Toyota Tournament — Montwood (El Paso) 56, El Paso Eastwood 47
Whitharral Invitational Tournament — Whitharral 44, Floyd (NM) 36
Zavalla Jingle Bell Jubilee — Woodville 50, Huntington 35

GIRLS
Axtell Tournament — Bruceville-Eddy (Eddy) 43, Axtell 27
Brownsville ISD Tournament — Harlingen 66, Hidalgo 39
Chico Tournament — Windthorst 64, Chico 33
Colbert (OK) Tournament — Honey Grove 54, Dickson (OK) 45
Dimmitt Tournament — Texico (N.M.) 39, Fort Sumner (NM) 38
Fairfield Tournament — Spring Hill (Longview) 55, Concordia Lutheran Prep 46
Fort Davis Mile High Tournament — Juarez Academy 57, Balmorhea 32
Freeman Parish Invitational Tournament — Tom Bean 53, Cooper 39
Frost Tournament — Dawson 52, Frost 25
Gladewater Tournament — Tatum 53, White Oak 35
Goliad Varsity Tournament — Goliad 44, Port Lavaca Calhoun 21
Grandfalls-Royalty Invitational — Rankin 60, Grandfalls-Royalty 31
Great East Texas Shootout — Martins Mill (Ben Wheeler) 47, Winnsboro 31
Gunslinger Classic — Arkansas (Texarkana, Ark.) 76, New Boston 38
Hamlin Tournament — Seymour 43, Hamlin 40
Harleton Invitational — Pleasant Grove (Texarkana) 58, Harleton 39
Meadow Invitational Tournament — Morton 40, Meadow 31
Miles Lady Dogs Tournament — Irion County (Mertzon) 60, Eula 28
Monahans Sandhills Classic — Andrews 53, Monahans 31
New Deal Mean Green Classic — Floydada 71, New Deal 18
Nevada Community Tournament — Cooper (Lubbock) 48, Dallas Life Oak Cliff 37
Pearsall Maverick Tournament — Jefferson (El Paso) 43, Pearsall 28
Plains Tournament — Tatum (N.M.) 52, Plains 43
Pride of Texas Tournament — Gregory-Portland (Portland) 51, Austin Lake Travis 48
Redwater Invitational — De Queen (Ark.) 66, Atlanta 37
Salado Tournament — Lorena 68, Smithville 44
Stanton Hooptown Classic — Merkel 59, Wink 17
Tall City Oilman's Tournament — La Marque 58, Midland Lee 43
Tommie Wiseman Tournament — Economedes (Edinburg) 28, Mission 24 (OT)
Vernon Tournament (Maroon Bracket) — Spearman 44, Amarillo San Jacinto 31
VernonTournament (Silver Bracket) — Munday 59, Eldorado 39
Water Valley Tournament — Water Valley 58, Lamesa Klondike 44
West Kolache Classic — La Vega (Waco) 49, Waco Connally 40
Whitharral Invitational Tournament — Lubbock Titans 53, Whitharral 41
Zavalla Jingle Bell Jubilee — Crockett 47, Elkhart Slocum 28

R.V. Baugus is the publisher of Tex Preps Basketball magazine and texprepsbasketball.com.