GODLEY — The Godley Lady Cats are off to one of the best starts in school history as District 15-2A play reaches its fever pitch.

Heading into Friday’s games, the Lady Cats had a 20-2 record, with a 4-0 mark in District 15-2A.

Godley’s lone losses on the season came against Peaster in the championship game of the Godley Christmas Invitational and against Class 4A Stephenville.

MacKenzie McLellan is the lone senior on the squad and Godley head coach Mark Chaveaux said her presence is essential to the success of the team, whether she’s on the bench or on the court.

Last year, McLellan was sidelined with a knee injury, but that didn’t lessen her energy and contributions to the team, Chaveaux said.

“MacKenzie is the leader,” he said. “Everybody looks to her for guidance, for inspiration, for intensity. I don’t think I can say any more for her than anything else I’ve already said.

“I think without her on the team, you wouldn’t see practices like we had [Thursday]. I hope that in the years to come, people can come to understand that intensity. She’s definitely the leader, our best defender and our best ball handler and she has been for four years.

“She didn’t get to play last year because of her knee, but she was just as intense on the bench as she is on the court.”

McLellan said her senior season has been the most enjoyable thus far, which is made all the more exciting because it hasn’t reached its conclusion.

“None of the others really compare because this is the best one,” McLellan said. “By far, this has been my favorite year and it’s not even over. The whole work ethic is 10 times better than any team that I’ve ever been on.

“I know these next three years after this season are going to be amazing [for Godley] and for me, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

McLellan said she enjoys her role as the main energizer for the team.

“Personally, I’d like to just keep playing hard every game,” McLellan said. “I just try to bring my team up and keep it positive for everybody. We take it one game at a time.”

Chaveaux said players typically show the greatest improvement between their first two years of high school and sophomore Ashley Allen is one of several examples of that for Godley this year.

“I think in general, you see a lot of improvement with kids between their freshman and sophomore year,” Chaveaux said. “I see that a lot with Ashley. She’s a lot better than she was last year. The reason that we see that improvement is because they didn’t get as much playing time as the freshman are this year.

“We’ve seen from Game 1 until now that the biggest improvement is mentally and they are understanding the game a little better, especially with our freshmen.”

With most of Godley’s scoring threats coming from the outside, Allen represents an inside option for the Lady Cats and also is one of Godley’s best rebounders.

“With Ashley, she’s one of our only two post players,” Chaveaux said. “We really don’t have a post because all of our players feel more comfortable playing outside, but we still need some kind of an inside presence at times.

“That’s what she gives us rebounding-wise. We look for her to grab the boards.”

Allen said she is also looking forward to her next two seasons and feels the Lady Cats will keep improving during that stretch.

“This year we’re doing a lot better than last year,” Allen said. “I’m looking forward to the next two years that I’ll be on varsity. We’ll have the four freshmen and maybe even more. We might even have some of the eighth graders that are coming up next year. I know that they’re really good. We can do as well as we’re doing this year.”

Freshman Dallas Young has been an integral part of Godley’s offense this season with her ability to hit outside shots.

Chaveaux said the team does it’s best to utilize her as a scoring threat.

“Dallas’ biggest role is to hit 3-pointers,” Chaveaux said. “It’s not her only role, but it’s what she’s good at. That’s her strength and that’s what we’re trying to get for her when she’s on offense.”

Young said the goal night in and night out is fairly simple and even in the loss to Peaster, she feels the team put forth maximum effort.

“My goal is just to work hard every game,” Young said. “The Peaster game was probably the biggest game this year so far.

“We had to work really hard and we did even though we didn’t win.”