The No. 1-ranked girls basketball team in the area is proving game after game they can rise to the challenge and extend their undefeated record. The Bellaire Cardinals, who defeated Westside Tuesday night to improve to 19-0, aren't just settling for each win but rather intensifying as the season moves along.

“We need to get a little more intense, we can’t have an off day so we are going to turn it up and play hard because everybody we play there’s a target on us,” coach Mike Kramer said.

The Cardinals are led by four Division I commits including Jasmine Hartman (Oklahoma), Tammara Maroin (Stephen F. Austin University), Tolu Omatola (TCU) and Tamara Torru (North Texas). Kramer believes their commits help drive the competition and bold the target on their backs.

“The target happened when those girl’s signed and got into the papers and the news, every team that we have played has given us their best,” Kramer said. “There’s a target and I think that has helped us though, as you can see we hang in there and I think that target helps us because we are not going to give up.”

Bellaire is not just a surface team. They have proven their bench players have the depth to attack their competition on all fronts. Players such as Courtney Dunhan, Taylor McGilbra and Jade Handy are bench players Kramer trusts to keep up their intensity.  

“Our bench play is really the one that helps get things going for us. They are young but when they come in they really helps us out,” Kramer said.

Along with the regular season the Cardinals use tournaments to improve their game and observe their potential competition. Bellaire has been sweeping through tournaments this season winning the HISD and Keller Williams Tournaments.

“That helps too because it gives us a different look so playing in the tournaments they get to see those different looks and I think that helps us down the line,” Kramer said.

The Cardinals are traveling to Dallas after Christmas to play some of the top teams in Texas but they know that the regular season games are essential but not as important as their district schedule.

 “I told the girls the record means nothing you got to win district so if we go up there (Dallas) and lose one or two than that’s fine because when we come back we got to take care of business in districts, because we are looking for the District Championship to put us in position in the bracket for the playoffs.”

Playoffs are not a foreign concept to the Cardinals. Last year they made it to the area finals where they were defeated by the No. 2 team in the state, the Cy-Fair Bobcats. Bellaire has used this defeat to drive them in playing the best teams and looks forward to revisiting old opponents to re-write history.

“Every game is important but of course you want to go up against the best, so our goal is to keep winning so we can catch Cy Fair, because of course that’s the team to play,” Kramer said.

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