Lake Travis View

The Lady Cavs are coming off their best season ever, one in which they were regional semifinalists.

On paper, not much has changed. Three starters are returning in senior Katelyn Bartell, senior Madi Wilkins and junior Kat Vidovic.

But it’s the two players that graduated – Lindsey Hausmann and Katy Brooks – that have left a void that may be tough to fill.

It proving quite a challenge for Lake Travis head coach Ted Dydalewicz, particularly at the point guard position, where Hausmann paced the Lady Cavs with her relentless approach.

“We’re having to make an adjustment to not having Hausmann at the point, there’s no doubt about that,” Dydalewicz said. “We’re working on trying to groom the next point guard, but we’ve got a number of people that we’re teaching. Basically, right now we’re rotating three guards bringing the ball up the floor.”

While it’s not easy to lose two senior guards that can steer your team on any given night, the Lady Cavs have some pretty good options still on the floor. And they start up top with Bartell.

“She has really stepped up her game, and she’s become a really good player for us,” Dydalewicz said. “She can handle so many roles for us, and she’s one of those players that is just all over the place. She can shoot, she can pass, she can rebound, and she can even post up now and then.”

Down low, Wilkins is one of the most imposing post players in Central Texas.

“Wilkins is definitely handling her spot in the post, and has started really well for us,” Dydalewicz said. “We’re hoping it builds a good inside-outside game.”

Vidovic provides a good outside game for the Lady Cavs, and an intensity few can match, and junior Elaine Houston teams up with Wilkins down low to give Lake Travis one of the tallest walls in the region.

The wild card of the group is sophomore Sara Richey, a talented but raw guard that Dydalewicz thinks is the future of Lake Travis basketball.

“I think she’s already shown tremendous improvement from last year, and she’s just going to get better and better,” he said. “We picked up another sophomore in Keely Wagner, and she’s getting a feel for the varsity level right now. Sometimes the speed and physicality are really tough for her, but I think in time she’s going to be really productive.”

One thing last year’s team didn’t have was depth, and that’s something that Dydalewicz thinks he finally has – giving his starters a chance to breathe once in a while.

“I feel like Dara Brown has really come up strong, Lauren Bender is shooting the ball really well, and we have Morgan Blodgett and Kaila Svetlik backing up the girls down low,” he said. “So I’m hoping the experience we have helps me keep some of the starters off the floor from time to time.”

Hausmann’s departure also means the Lady Cavs are learning to play at a different speed from basket to basket, and that’s been an extreme adjustment for everyone involved. But it doesn’t mean it’s not welcome. In fact, it may be more helpful.

“We’re not as fast a team as we were before, so we’re making that adjustment, too. There are certain things I want to do in ballgames that I can’t do this year, and it’s taking some adjustment on my part and on the girls part to get things straight so far,” Dydalewicz said. “This year I expect more teams to press us because we won’t be able to just run through them now that Hausmann and Brooks are gone.”

How his team reacts to the press and to the pressure they’ll face with a fresh bulls eye on their back remains to be seen, but he likes his chances.

“I love my odds. I feel like if we play to our abilities, we’ll be right there,” Dydalewicz said. “We’ve got just as good a shot at the district as anybody.”