MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — By now, Mission Veterans Memorial coach Diana Lerma has lost track of how many times her team has advanced to the regional tournament.
As the program’s lone coach, Lerma should know. But on the eve of their second straight appearance, Lerma jogs her memory by looking up at the banners hanging from the school’s gymnasium.
“There’s four,” she says, checking off 2003, 2007, 2013 and 2014.
By this point, the Lady Patriots are searching for something more — something along the lines of a state tournament appearance.
“That’s our goal,” Mission Vets’ D.D. Ibarra said. “To go further than last year’s (Sweet 16), we would make history. No other team at Veterans has done that.”
The Lady Patriots (34-6) have high expectations for themselves after going 42-0 last year heading into their fourth-round match against Cedar Park, which won in a sweep. The loss weighed heavily on Mission Veterans. So much, in fact, that it took about three months before they were able to put it behind them.
“It took that long for them to say, ‘You know what? We did good, anyway,’” Lerma said
Among the key storylines entering this season was how the Lady Patriots were going to make up for the loss of Shania Gilpin, an All-Valley player of the year, who graduated. Mission Vets quickly put to rest that question when D.D. Ibarra and Daisy Reyna stepped up big contributions each night to complement Gabby Lerma’s steady play.
What’s more, the Lady Patriots were exposed to competition outside the Valley, traveling to Houston for a tournament, where all but one of their six losses came this season.
More than anything, Mission Vets adjusted its style of play. It realized after the regional tournament last year that it had to improve its vertical leap to make up for its lack of height.
Where some of the more successful teams may have a pair of 6-footers, the Lady Patriots’ tallest players stand at 5-foot-9.
“We hear it all the time. We’re the shorties,” Gabby Lerma said. “It doesn’t get to us because height matters to a certain point. If we just play our best, we’ll come out strong.”
Ibarra remembers the experience last year, facing “super tall girls” and quicker offenses. To combat that, the Lady Patriots have worked on picking up the pace in practice this week in anticipation of Alamo Heights (41-6) at 5 p.m. tonight.
“They understand everybody has to be smart and aggressive and everyone has to play their role,” the Mission Veterans coach said. “They’ve been exposed to this (with taller teams). Like I tell them, every other school would die for this opportunity. Make it worth your while.”