![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.jpg)
Lady Timberwolves Basketball Makes History Once Again
Team Defeats Pflugerville, Wins Second District Title in Row
The Lady Timberwolves celebrate at half court after the final buzzer. The T-Wolves finished 14-0 in district, marking their second outright district championship and solidifying themselves in school history. “There was a lot of hype behind that game,” senior forward Pujita Shukla said. “I think it was the perfect [home] game to end my career as a senior on. I am going to remember that game forever.”
February 8, 2019
“Pflugerville- 1st, Cedar Park- 2nd.”
These words have been typed, written and taped all around the Lady Timberwolves’ locker room for weeks. In early September, the prediction of district standings was released, and sophomore guard Sarai Estupinan said that those predictions sparked the team’s determination to beat the Pflugerville Lady Panthers and win district for the second season in a row last Friday.
“That little piece of paper showed us that no one thought we were going to be on top this year,” Estupinan said. “I think it motivated us into thinking that we had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
The district championship game was nothing short of expectations, junior guard Takara Holst said, and throughout the high-energy game, there were 10 charges called, over 50 free throws shot and 97 points scored between the two teams.
Holst said that even though the Lady Timberwolves were up by 20 points in the third quarter, they knew that they were nowhere close to being done. As the Lady Panthers tried to slowly chip away at the lead, Holst recalled one particular moment that, to her, signified a win for the team.
“The moment I knew we were going to win was when I saw Coach Ott walk down the bench and do his hilarious victory dance,” Holst said.
Knowing that the game would be an intense one, the team was already preparing for the matchup weeks in advance.
“Fortunately, we did not have a game earlier in the week which allowed us to focus more on Pflugerville,” Holst said. “In practice, we made sure to watch film from our previous game [against Pflugerville] to see what we could improve on, as well as putting in new plays to surprise our opponents.” We proved that our championship last year wasn’t luck. We established a lasting legacy for Cedar Park. — Junior Guard Hanna Wheeler
This was freshman post Shelby Hayes’s first time preparing to become a district championship contender, and she said that managing nerves before the game was the hardest aspect of preparation she faced.
“I was very nervous in practice and before the game,” Hayes said. “But one of the captains helped me calm my nerves with simple breathing exercises which really allowed me to focus in and relax.”
Nerves or not, Hayes had a total of six points, five rebounds and three charges. Hayes said that it was an amazing atmosphere to play in and that the team’s support helped her to succeed.
“No matter what, I knew my teammates had my back,” Hayes said. “I am thankful that my teammates and my coaches put trust in me to contribute to the game.”
Junior point guard Hanna Wheeler said the team wished to start a legacy for the Lady Timberwolves program ever since last year’s undefeated season, which resulted in 16-0 and the program’s first outright district championship. As the underdog in this big win, Wheeler said the team solidified themselves in Cedar Park history.
“It is no secret that a lot of people thought we were going to fall short this year to Pflugerville,” Wheeler said. “We used that as motivation to prove who Cedar Park girls basketball really is.”
Wheeler said that this championship was even more meaningful for both her and the team since it was the Lady Timberwolves’ second season in a row to go undefeated.
“We proved that our championship last year wasn’t luck,” Wheeler said. “We established a lasting legacy for Cedar Park.”
Senior forward, Pujita Shukla, said that the game against Pflugerville was one to remember, as it was her last game in the Timberdome.
“There was a lot of hype behind that game,” Shukla said. “I think it was the perfect [home] game to end my career as a senior on. I am going to remember that game forever.”
Shukla said that the high intensity of the game was similar to what the Lady Timberwolves will face in playoffs, making it a perfect game to get in the playoff mindset.
Nearing playoffs, Coach Ott said that he and his assistant coaches, Kami Williamson and J.R. Romero, are preparing by scouting all of the team’s potential matchups to ensure that they are adequately prepared. Ott also said that with their current players, he is confident that the Lady Timberwolves will continue to succeed.
“Realistically, for us, I feel like our team is built for a really strong run this year,” Ott said. “We have good senior leadership and experience from the regional tournament with last year’s team.”
The team will play Manor next Monday at 6:30 p.m. for the bi-district championships at Cedar Ridge High School. Updates on playoff games and locations can be found on the @CPLadyWolves twitter.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
