One of the smallest schools in Texas beat one of the biggest in girls basketball.

DALLAS — The tiny Texas town of Gordon is no stranger to a big stage. The high school’s six-man football team routinely plays in state championship games at AT&T Stadium, and the girls basketball team is playing at the home of the San Antonio Spurs this week.

But those are just venues. 

Last week, the Lady Longhorns basketball team faced a giant of an opponent — and won.

Gordon beat Plano West 49-42 in overtime, on Plano West’s home court. A Class 1A team beating a Class 6A opponent sounds shocking enough on its own. Then there are the numbers:

Plano West, enrollment 5,337 (the third-most in Texas).

“It was a huge opportunity for us, one of the biggest schools in the state,” Gordon coach Matt Garnett said, “and it felt like it was a fight we wanted to try to go get in.”

Garnett, a former men’s college coach at McMurry and Wayland Baptist, is in his first year at Gordon, which is located about 65 miles west of Fort Worth in Palo Pinto County. Garnett left the college ranks about a decade ago but wanted to get back into coaching when his daughters started playing basketball.

And it was his oldest daughter, Faith Garnett, who led Gordon in scoring against Plano West, dropping 29 points in the comeback win (Gordon trailed by 10 in the third quarter).

Gordon’s meeting with Plano West happened by chance. Plano West coach Kelli Bagley was hiring an assistant coach, and Garnett was a reference for one of the candidates. Bagley called Garnett, and they both needed a non-district game on the schedule. And the matchup was set.

“I was really appreciative,” Garnett said of Bagley’s offer. “She’s a really quality person.”

Gordon leaned into their defense in the second half against Plano West and forced overtime, and then pulled away. 

The Lady Longhorns are 6-0 and play New Braunfels Christian Academy on Tuesday at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. 

While Faith Garnett is the team’s leading scorer (13.4 ppg) on the season, they’ve had five different leading scorers in their six games. Grace Garnett, the coach’s younger daughter, is averaging 13.2 points per game, and Marley Jackson is averaging 10.3 points per game and six rebounds. Jackson had 13 points and seven rebounds in the win against Plano West.

“They are a very unselfish group,” Matt Garnett said. 


Meanwhile, the Gordon football team is looking to win its third straight state championship in Class 1A. Since Gordon is so small, the Longhorns play six-man football — but even so, they have two Division I recruits in Stryker Reed (Air Force) and Ry Reed (Army). 

The Longhorns boys basketball team doesn’t start until after football season, but they’re looking to build on a 21-4 record last season. And the girls basketball team is already rolling in what could be a season that ends with a playoff run. 

So, what’s in the water in Gordon?

“There’s just a blue collar approach to the work. We love the work,” Garnett said. “Just some tough-minded kids.”