Dallas Lincoln High School Lady Tigers basketball team are bound for San Antonio to play for the state title on Friday. It’s a culmination of a team effort both on and of the court. Noelle Walker has the story.
The Lincoln High School Lady Tigers Basketball Team boarded their team bus in South Dallas as the marching band played and fans cheered.
"The work has been put in," Lincoln Girls Basketball Head Coach Ashely Greer said. "We're prepared, we're ready, and we want to put on a show for the city."
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WATCH HERE"Last year we made it to the Final 4 and unfortunately, we lost," Lady Tigers Guard Lanae Dallas said. "Now we're in the final game," Lady Tigers Guard Jada Patterson said.
The State Finals is something Artavia Burns knows something about.
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SIGN UP "I was once a player," Burns said. "Had a chance to appear in State Finals game all 4-years, and finally won State my senior year AND was State MVP!"
Now Burns is Lincoln Lady Tigers Basketball Assistant Coach.
"She's getting us ready 'cause she's been here," Patterson said.
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"I just tell them, embrace the moment, you know? Never take it for granted. Play it like it's their last, 'cause we all don't get a chance to be 17, 15, 14 again. You get old like me," Burns said laughing.
The team excels on the court and off, maintaining an A-average GPA, the highest academic rank of any sports team at Lincoln High School.
"We just smart," Dallas said laughing. "That, and we're just on top of everything, we're good kids outside of basketball, you know? Our parents raised us right, so we know if we not good in class then we can't do anything on the court," Patterson said. "This is teaching me how to be a better person every day. It can be hard, but we still gotta do what we gotta do."
The only thing left to do is win. "Make history, that's all we're trying to do," Patterson said.
The Lincoln High School Lady Tigers play the Cuero Lady Gobblers in the 4A Division ll State Finals at 5:00 p.m. Friday at the Alamodome
