Last Friday, January 17, both Cardinal basketball coaches reached career milestones. Women's coach John Griffin reached 300 wins. Squaring up against the 3-11 Legacy Christian Eagles, who in the previous game lost 60-16 to Bishop Lynch, the 13-13 Lady Cardinals rolled right past them for a 69-26 blowout win.
 
            Before coaching at JPII, Coach Griffin coached softball and women's basketball at Parish Episcopal High School starting in 2014. Fun fact, Coach reached 200 wins in softball before his time here at JPII. At Parish, John made a substantial impact, leading the Lady Panthers to five consecutive trips to regional finals, two trips to the TAPPS 6A finals, and a state championship the 2017-18 season. During his tenure as women's basketball head coach, Parish had four 20+ win seasons as well as one 30+ win season. Deciding to leave Parish for JPII before the 2018-19 season, Griffin finished his stint there with a 127-40 (.760) record and a championship.
 
            In Griffin's first season at JPII, the Lady Cards finished 25-12, making the regional finals. The team had another successful season in 2019, finishing with a 34-6 record and making it all the way to the state semifinals. Sadly, they came up short, 69-59 vs. Prestonwood, but in light of their great season, two Lady Cards received honors from TAPPS. Guard Neveah Tot made First Team All-State and center Neveah Parkinson received a Second Team nod. Following the Lady Cards' 2019-20 season, Coach was selected to join the coaching staff on Steph Curry's Underrated Tour, a nationwide tournament, led by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, to help players gain recognition.
 
After the 2020 "COVID" season, the Lady Cards were shot out of a cannon, pulling off back-to-back 30+ win seasons, with both culminating in a state championship. The 2021-22 season, Griffin coached JPII to an outstanding 35-7 record. That season, the Lady Cards averaged 61 points per game, scoring 68 in the state championship. In 2022, momentum kept on rolling and JPII finished the season with a 33-4 record and yet another state championship. The Lady Cards absolutely soared in the state playoffs that year, outscoring opponents by a total 208-106.
 
In the 2023 season, the Lady Cards were oh so close, falling short vs Antonian 58-52 in Regionals. Despite not making state, JPII had two players make the TAPPS 6A All-State team; forward Clara Paynter and guard Jaclyn Silva. So far, this season, the Lady Cards are 14-13 and are gearing up to play Prestonwood at home on Friday, January 31 at 6pm in the Bird Cage.