After winning their first playoff game against South Oak Cliff, the Varsity Girls Basketball team will play against Lufkin in Fairfield on Thursday.

“I’m most excited (that) the hard work our girls have been putting in has paid off,” Coach Jeanette Mitchell said.

Only the top 10 teams in each district qualify for playoffs.

“Being able to earn that distinction is definitely something the girls will remember and something the entire school and community can be proud of,” Mitchell said.

Varsity player Allyson Hinds said the competition will be a lot tougher compared to last year.

“Our road to state is a lot harder,” she said. “We (have) harder teams going into state.

The team has multiple strategies, Hinds said.

“It depends on who we’re playing,” she said. “Some teams might be faster and other teams have a (more) dominant inside game.”

Point guard Hailee Walls said she is optimistic about the team’s performance in playoffs.

“We’ll do really well because we’re a hard working team,” she said. “We all have the same goal of wanting to win the state championship.”

Mitchell said that although the group will go against tougher schools, the Lady Wolves have a good chance at making it to state.

“Our team has an advantage because we are so close,” she said. “We don’t have one athlete who thinks they are better than the team. We play as a team and we know we can rely on each other.”