Dual State under way

Congratulations to the three Union County teams who advanced at Dual State this week. Parkers Chapel, Norphlet and Strong won with three totally different types of performances.
The Lady Trojans had a tough draw but showed some toughness and a little bit of spunk with their first round win over Hamburg. The Lady Lions are a feisty squad and pushed Parkers Chapel physically.
I've questioned the toughness of Mark Young's girls. They showed me a little something, something. I liked what I saw.
The Lady Leopards weren't pushed or even pressed as they crushed Dermott. Dermott had a decent girls program just a few years ago. The Lady Rams have definitely fallen off the girls basketball map, however.
Norphlet didn't have to break a sweat. But, give 'em credit, they beat a bad team down just like you're supposed to.
Wednesday, Strong looked like it was going to make quick work of Summerfield. But, the Lady Bulldogs blew a 17-3 second quarter lead and actually trailed by five a couple times in the second half.
What looked like a laugher turned into a bonafide dogfight. Of course, nobody beats the Lady Bulldogs in a dogfight.
Strong prevailed, making hustle plays down the stretch. I swear, I've never seen a team shoot so bad, yet score so many points. Strong made one shot from outside the lane. I'm not even playing. They made one shot outside of the paint the entire game.
In a game of H-O-R-S-E, I'm taking Parkers Chapel. In a track meet, I take Norphlet. But, in a game of basketball, it's hard to overlook a team that can win a game while shooting like crap.