Lipan could be first Texas HS in 16 years to win girls & boys state basketball titles in same season
LIPAN, Texas (CBSNewsTexas.com) — It's not often that a school wins the Girls 2A Basketball State Tournament.
But it's even less likely to have the boys team at the same school, during the same season, be two wins away from doing the same thing.
This is the case at Lipan High School, which is just an hour southwest of Fort Worth.
"Just to see them at the end have their hard work pay off has been phenomenal," Amber Branson, the girls head coach, said.
She and boys head coach Brent Gaylor say Lipan is a very special place. It's their home and their community is family.
Family is the key word. Branson's starting point guard is her daughter, Taylor. Another key player on her team? Gaylor's daughter, Hanna.
And now that his daughter is a state champ, it's his turn as he takes the boys to San Antonio this weekend.
"I told her. I've been telling you for six-to-seven years that I hope one day you put me in a very awkward situation, and here we are...It got pretty emotional that night between a father and daughter," Gaylor said.
Emotional and even more unbelievable when you consider that coach Branson also has a son, Tate, who plays for the boys team.
"Our kids are very competitive and it doesn't matter whether it's basketball or playing a card game...they wanna do as well as we did," Branson said.
It's been 16 years since a Texas school has won a UIL title in both girls and boys basketball in the same season.
"We have a very small town," Branson said. "[We have] a lot of support and I think it means a lot to all of us."