Coming off another 20-win campaign and the 15th trip to the playoffs in 16 years, the Brownwood Lady Lions tip off their 17th season under head coach Heather Hohertz at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday at Class 5A Abilene High.
Brownwood looks to attain its first postseason victory since 2017, as the Lady Lions return to the bulk of their 2024-25 roster, including all five starters from a 23-12 squad. Returnees include first-team all-district selections Hannah Deen, Icess Hall and Trinity Roberts, second-team all-district choices Jade Morin and Nylah Hall, as well as honorable mention recipient Lanie Johnson.
“We talked since last year that there’s been a drought in terms of playoff wins and winning gold balls so the standard in that area hasn’t been met, but that’s something they really want to accomplish this year,” said Hohertz, who owns a 326-191 record in her tenure at Brownwood. “They know what it takes, they just have to be consistent day in and day out in every practice and every game we play, and if they do that, by the time district comes we’ll be hitting on all cylinders.”
Regarding the amount of experience on the roster, Hohertz said, “Hannah and Icess have been starters for four years and it’s crazy to think that they’re seniors, but we’re really going to lean on them, they’re our leaders. Nylah, Trinity and Jade also have a lot of experience, so with those five it really gives us a solid starting group. On our bench, Lanie returns from last year’s team.”
As for the new faces this season, Hohertz said, “Moving up from JV are Abby Brasher, who is a shooting guard; Jaidyn Hope, I can slide her around anywhere; Demayha Hooker is a big presence in the middle; and Cambree Jefferson can play as a 3 or a 5, wherever we need her; then Jentry Coalson is coming out and she’ll be a forward for us. The main thing for them is they have to get court time, varsity experience and adjust to the game speed.”
Brownwood has scrimmaged four opponents in the preseason – San Angelo Central, Abilene Wylie, Comanche and Goldthwaite. The Lady Lions outscored their foes in all but one outing, and came up just two points shy in that effort.
“I’ve really liked what I’ve seen so far,” Hohertz said. “Obviously it’s not going to be perfect right now with some of them only having a week or so of practice under their belts. I was really pleased against Central and Wylie, we didn’t play great defense against Central so we slipped up in that scrimmage by two, but then we turned about and beat Wylie by 12. There was a lot of good things to build on there, and some things we need to clean up and work on, but I like the direction we’re going.”
The Lady Lions enter the season ranked No. 25 in Class 4A by the Texas High School Girls Basketball website.
“I hate rankings,” Hohertz said with a laugh. “You can be ranked No. 1, or can be unranked, but what matters is what steps on the floor consistently every night. That’s what I look at. What team am I getting consistently? Rankings are rankings, but what my product on the floor is every night is what I’m worried about.”
Prior to the start of district, goals include, “continuing to get into basketball shape,” Hohertz said. “We want to press and utilize our speed so they’re going to have to be in tip-top basketball shape, especially the ones moving over from volleyball. We also have to tune up our team defense, whether it’s man or zone, and continue to be consistent on offense.”
As for the 6-4A race, Hohertz said, “In my opinion it’s going to be a toss up. With splitting the playoffs into divisions now, Stephenville and ourselves are usually the large schools, so our main goal is the get the No. 1 seed for the big school playoffs. Last year we split with Stephenville, and we haven’t won in Stephenville in a long time, so we’re going to have to be able to handle games on the road. Brock and ourselves could be the top two teams of the district. Glen Rose graduated a lot, but I think it could be a toss up between those four teams. Then Mineral Wells and Graham are always hard places to play. But we have to be able to consistent, make sure we’re hitting on all cylinders at the right time, and if that happens, I think the seeding with play out the way I think that it might.”
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Brownwood Lady Lions 2025 Basketball Schedule
| N11 | at Abilene High | 6:15 p.m. |
| N14 | Merkel | 6 p.m. |
| N18 | Lampasas | 6:15 p.m. |
| N20-22 | at Hamilton Tournament | TBA |
| N25 | at Early | 12:15 p.m. |
| D2 | at Jim Ned | 6:15 p.m. |
| D4-6 | at Lorena Tournament | TBA |
| D9 | at Burnet | 6:30 p.m. |
| D12 | Hamilton | 6:15 p.m. |
| D15 | La Vernia (at Junction) | 6:45 p.m. |
| D19 | Abilene Wylie | 2:15 p.m. |
| D22 | Odessa Permian (at Sterling City) | 11 a.m. |
| D29-31 | TexasBank Holiday Classic | TBA |
| J3 | at Marble Falls | Noon |
| J9 | Mineral Wells* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J13 | at Glen Rose* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J16 | Stephenville* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J20 | at Graham* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J23 | Brock* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J27 | at Mineral Wells* | 5:45 p.m. |
| J30 | Glen Rose* | 5:45 p.m. |
| F3 | at Stephenville* | 5:45 p.m. |
| F6 | Graham* | 5:45 p.m. |
| F10 | at Brock* | 5:45 p.m. |
* District 6-4A Games