Winning 10 of their last 13, the Wildcats look to be in good shape through the beginning of the conference. However, several injuries have made for a tough road ahead. 

Head Coach Julie Goodenough has needed to use several different starting lineups, which she said has made for a tough conference start, but added how proud she is of the individual athletes for stepping up into new roles. 

“What we have seen over the last month is just different players stepping up,” Goodenough said. “You know, we challenge our players to be the best version of themself, which doesn’t mean to be perfect.”

One player who stepped up because of other players’ absences is Emma Troxell, sophomore forward from Bushland. 

She said the responsibility does not fall to one player, but instead, the team will need to work to make up for the injured players.

“I think not only me, but everybody needs to come together,” Troxell said. “Share the ball and just put up shots.”

Troxell’s shooting percentages have decreased since the start of conference play, but she said that will not discourage her from continuing to shoot the ball. 

“In the last games, I’ve been doing more driving and finishing inside,” Troxell said. “But I’ve also still taken the threes, but I’ll continue to work on my shot.”

Continuing to shoot, Troxell saw the ball fall through the net five times from the three-point line in Thursday’s loss to Tarleton State University: her best performance in conference. 

Goodenough said she is thankful for the effort everyone on the team has been putting forth, but knows that some things, such as injuries, are out of their control.

“I mean, you know, hardships are going to come. Adversity is going to come,” Goodenough said. “We don’t dwell on any kind of losses, loss of a player, loss of a game, whatever. We’re just going to focus on, you know, what we can control.”

The Wildcats will look to bounce back on Saturday when they visit the University of Texas at Arlington at 2 p.m. in their sixth conference matchup of the season.