Time to get angry

I've talked about how proud I am of both Smackover and Strong for advancing to the state tournaments. I was surely disappointed Parkers Chapel didn't join them.
The Lady Trojans lost to Mt. Ida in a game where they couldn't get off a shot, much less make one. Parkers Chapel trailed 14-0 and 18-2 to start the contest.
Despite that, they got back into the game, cutting the lead to 18-15 in the first half. I thought the turning point, however, was when PC allowed the Lady Lions to score two buckets in the final 20 seconds of the half.
A three-point lead is just one possession. A seven-point lead is three possessions.
Anyway, the Lady Trojans didn't get a lot of calls. I didn't think they would. Still, Mt. Ida's 47 free throws to just 14 is a bit lopsided.
Even more than that, the Lady Trojans never adjusted to the referees' calling of traveling and carrying the ball. The officials consistently called traveling anytime a player from either side made any sort of pump fake and move to the hoop.
It's unfortunate they chose the regional tournament to make those calls, which weren't called all year. But, as a player, you have to adjust. If they're calling it, you have to, at some point, stop doing it.
Parkers Chapel never got comfortable with the way the game was being called. The team's two best players fouled out within the first minute of the fourth quarter, pretty much sealing the Lady Trojans' fate.
PC lost 52-36 but it wasn't from a lack of effort. They wanted to win. They tried to win. They were disappointed when they didn't win.
But, state tournament teams find a way to overcome adversity. I watched every game of Strong's two-year state championship run. In about half of those games, the Lady Bulldogs pretty much got no calls.
Teams have to find a way to win when their shooting is cold, the calls are against them and the crowd is hostile. At some point, a team has to huddle up and say, "We're not losing this game. There is no way, we're going to let them take this from us."
I thought PC was in a great position to get to state this year. I think the Lady Trojans are a better team than Mt. Ida. I think the Lady Trojans had something taken from them on Thursday.
I hope they're really, really pissed off about it.

It's off to state we go

Congratulations to Smackover and Strong's girls for advancing to the 3A and 2A state tournaments. Both teams advanced Thursday with tough regional victories.
That's four years in a row for the Lady Bulldogs while the Lady Bucks are making their first trip to state in a long time.
In my 17 years at the News-Times, this is Smackover's first trip to the big dance.
Smackover travels to Cave City next week while Strong heads to my favorite town of Jessieville.
It's still darn tough to qualify for state in the smaller classifications. I say every year, it's more about guts and heart than talent this time of the year.
When teams go on the road in the regional, they know they're going to have to overcome some odds, fight through some adversity and battle, battle, battle.
That's what Smackover and Strong did. I give a lot of credit for their attitude and toughness to the fact both schools played against teams from larger classifications during the season.
Smackover beat Hope, Magnolia, Hamburg and Arkadelphia this season. Strong got thumped hard by the likes of El Dorado, Ouachita (La.) and Neville and also squared off against Dumas.
I still say playing those kinds of teams instills toughness and fearlessness. After you've played against 4A, 5A and 6A opponents, competing on someone else's home court with your season on the line isn't quite as intimidating.
***
The Ouachita Baptist women’s basketball team snapped a six-game skid Thursday night by downing Christian Brothers, 66-59, in a Gulf South Conference West Division game at Bill Vining Arena.
Maranda Parker had her best game as a collegian, scoring 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Ouachita Baptist improved to 5-19 overall and 2-9 GSC West.
The Lady Tigers travel 6:00 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23 to Southern Arkansas.

Highs and lows of coaching

ROSBORO - Parkers Chapel’s Jamie Ball has only been in the coaching business a couple of years. She’s already experienced enough highs and lows to last awhile.
Ball was on top of the world Saturday when Genoa Central upset Fouke to win her conference tournament championship.
Wednesday, it doesn’t get much lower for a coach as Ball’s top-seeded Lady Dragons were upset by fourth-seeded Drew Central 54-42.
Genoa’s season ended at 14-11, one game away from the Class 3A state tournament.
The Lady Dragons trailed 8-6 after one quarter and 18-16 at the half.
But, Genoa wilted against the Lady Pirates’ fullcourt pressure, turning the ball over again-and-again. Drew Central scored the first nine points of the third and built a 35-20 lead.
Genoa fought back with a desperate charge. Britni Ramsey got busy on the offensive boards and Chevi Green nailed a 3-pointer as the Lady Dragons cut the deficit to 37-33 with 5:38 left in the game.
That was as close as they would get, however, as turnovers and defensive rebounding, the same factors that put Genoa in the hole, started to haunt Ball’s club again down the stretch.
“I think we came in overconfident. We came in as a first seed, which we don’t usually do,” said Ball. “I don’t know. We weren’t ready for the press. We weren’t ready for the press and we didn’t block out.”
The young coach admitted, she was caught off guard by Drew Central’s pressure.
“Yeah, everybody I talked to said their press wasn’t great or they didn’t press,” said Ball, who couldn’t hide her displeasure as she purposely waited several minutes before joining her team in the lockerroom.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Ball. “Coming in first seed and not even making it to state, it puts you right back down.”
If there was a bright spot, the coach could think back to where she was this time a year ago. After a tumultuous season at Junction City, she’s happy with her current squad.
“This is still a lot better,” said Ball. “I’m happy about the team. I’m happy about the kids that I coach. I’m looking forward to next year. It’s still a great experience, even thought we lost.”
* * *
After beating Parkers Chapel 37-34 Saturday night in the 2A 7-East District Tournament championship game, Stephens’ coach Gail Kimbell had this to say about Lady Trojans’ coach Mark Young.
“I think he’s one of the smartest and one of the finest coaches around here,” said Kimbell. “I appreciate the opportunity to coach against him because you’re never going to get better if you don’t go against the best. Every time I go against him, he challenges me to step up and make me think, ‘what can I do?’ I can appreciate him for bringing that to me. He’s actually making me a better coach.”
* * *
Coach Kimbell was bitterly disappointed after her top-seeded Lady Roadrunners were eliminated by Caddo Hills on Wednesday. I overheard part of the coach’s postgame interview with Camden News sports editor Kelly Blair.I won’t repeat all of it. But, part of her comments included the phrase, “I think we got robbed.”

Having a Ball

Congratulations are in order for Jamie Ball, who led Genoa Central to its district tournament championship Saturday night. The Lady Dragons upset regular-season champion Fouke in the final game.
Ball's squad will carry the No. 1 seed into the regional at Centerpoint next week.
Just my luck, Smackover got upset Saturday night by England. The Lady Bucks are on the same side of the bracket as Genoa.
Smackover plays Centerpoint in the first round and, according to Ball, it will be a very difficult matchup for the Lady Bucks.
At this stage, there are no easy matchups.
Stephens beat Parkers Chapel by three points for the third time this season in the 2A 7-East tournament final. The Lady Trojans had no answer for the Lady Roadrunners' athleticism in the fourth quarter.
Coach Mark Young's squad did fight hard, though. I thought I detected a look of desperation in some their eyes down the stretch. Personally, I like that look. It means they know what's at stake and it does matter to them.
Anyway, it's go-time next week. Any team that's not desperate for a win, will be going home.

Somebody please, prove him wrong

I watched El Dorado's girls struggle for a half against a winless Little Rock Hall team on Friday. After the game, Coach Corey Smith and I got into a discussion about the small school teams in Union County.
Smith said Hall would beat the small schools in the area.
I couldn't tell for sure how serious he was but we've had these discussions and/or debates several times since he arrived in town last year. Smith, who graduated from Nevada County, isn't a fan of small school basketball.
In fact, he said no school in the county can stay within single digits of his Lady Wildcats, who have an 11-13 record this season.
I disagree.
I challenged him to play the area schools and, unlike previous coaches, Smith said he had no problem putting them on the schedule. So, I urge any of the area coaches who are looking for a game next year and don't want to travel for hours, give Coach Smith a call.
Remember, you don't have to beat the Lady Wildcats. All you have to do is give the mighty El Dorado a good game to prove him wrong.
***
Friday, Cutter Morning Star lost to Jessieville 50-36 in the district tournament. Coach Lee Scroggins moved up his ninth graders and lamented about not putting them in the game soon enough.
Cutter Morning Star will be the No. 3 seed in the West Region. Jessieville and Poyen are playing in the tournament final tonight, by the way.

Basketball postseason is upon us

It's down to the final two in Stephens on Saturday when the top-seeded Lady Roadrunners take on Parkers Chapel in the girls championship game of the 2A 7-East District Tournament.

Stephens was very impressive in its win over Norphlet on Thursday. I've been skeptical of the Lady Roadrunners. Okay, now I'm convinced. They really can shoot the 3-ball pretty good. It's not luck when they knock down four in a row, including one off the glass.

They've been doing it all year. Who's that lucky?

Parkers Chapel beat Strong in the other semifinal in a weird game. PC went on a 16-0 run only to see Strong go on a 25-4 run. Basically, whoever was on a roll in the fourth quarter was going to win. If they had played five quarters, it might've been a different outcome.

The Lady Trojans showed some grit. I still say this is the makings of a solid postseason club with the outside shooting and inside presence. Ball handling is the issue and, although the Lady Bulldogs aren't the best pressing team out there, PC did a better job taking care of the ball on Thursday.

The regional will be interesting. Norphlet is in trouble if Mineral Springs stays true to form and comes in as the top seed. But, this league's other three girls entries have a legitimate shot at state.

At the same time, none of them will have a cakewalk to get there.

I guess I paid my cell phone bill just in time as it was blowing up on Thursday. Lee Scroggins called to say his Cutter Morning Star team qualified for its regional. Scroggins moved up three ninth graders, including his daughter Emilee. The new blood made a big difference to his senior high, which had a losing record during the regular season.

Scroggins was also excited because of an upset in his tournament, which could give him a three seed instead of a four. Maybe luck will be on his side and he can get Cutter to state.

I got off the phone with Scroggins to talk to Jamie Ball, whose Genoa Central team advanced to the championship game of its district tournament. Genoa will play Fouke on Saturday in Horatio.

Ball was bubbling with excitement and was busy asking me questions about Smackover's conference, which will match up with hers at Centerpoint in the regional.

The Lady Bucks, by the way, are in the championship game of the 3A 8 District Tournament. Hopefully, both Smackover and Genoa can win Saturday because I'd rather not see them match up in the regional.

Oh, Brad Slatton's team at Fort Elliot Consolidated in Texas has also advanced to the postseason. Also, Ronald Rogers is back at the helm at Camden Fairview and senior guard Jasmine Canser was released by the doctor to get back on the court this week.

If you count El Dorado, five of the six girls teams in Union County are headed to the postseason. Looks like most of the current and former area coaches are enjoying a happy basketball season. Hope it continues for another couple of weeks.

Kill it 'til it's dead

Had Rodney King been in attendance Wednesday at Strong's game against Hampton, he probably would've said it was the worst butt whipping he'd ever seen. The Lady Bulldogs' 78-21 win over Hampton in the 2A 7-East District Tournament was brutal.
The beating was quite bad and Hampton helped choreograph the whole thing.
I was actually proud of Strong coach Gerrald Koonce, whose team shot the ball much better than I'd seen this season. In the blog below, I said the Lady Bulldogs' range was point blank. After watching them hit 7-of-10 from 3-point range, I guess I underestimated their shooting by about 20 feet.
Strong did what Strong does in elimination games, it survived. With their backs to the wall, these Lady Bulldogs are at their best.
Strong led 13-2, 16-4 and 33-5 in the first quarter. It was 42-8 midway in the second and 55-14 at the half.
When the Lady Bulldogs went up 65-18 with 4:06 left in the third, Koonce removed all of his starters. That's when Hampton turned up its defensive heat and physical play against Strong's subs.
I loved it when Koonce put his starters back into the game two minutes later. Strong led 69-20 after three quarters and the bench finished up the final period.
After the game, a fan questioned Koonce's motives for putting his starters back in the game with a 40-point lead. The fan said it was like beating a dead horse.
In my opinion, when that horse starts fullcourt pressing, he ain't dead.

District tournament up for grabs

As far as I'm concerned the 2A 7-East girls basketball tournament begins Wednesday. This is when the fun starts as we put the finishing touches on an interesting conference season.
Stephens was not the team I would've picked as the preseason favorite but the Lady Roadrunners emerged as a somewhat surprising champion.
I've been skeptical of Stephens' style of offense, which consists of jacking up 3-pointers until they start to fall. Fact is, the Lady Roadrunners are pretty good at knocking down long-range shots. A bigger fact is, offense isn't what won the championship.
Stephens' defensive pressure was the difference in the league this season. Point guard play was in short supply throughout the conference and the Lady Roadrunners used that to their advantage.
In my opinion, any team that can handle the press, will be too tough for Stephens. How many teams in the 2A 7-East can handle the press?
Well, Stephens is the champion so I guess that answers that question.
As surprising as Stephens has been, Bearden is the hottest team in the league entering the tournament. The Lady Bears' recipe for success is pretty much the same as Stephens. Bearden is going to apply fullcourt pressure and test their opponents' ball handling and toughness.
It's been working lately.
Bearden finished as the fifth seed and will battle Norphlet today for a berth in the regional. The Lady Leopards, who have two wins over the Lady Bears, are a guard-oriented group. It's a good matchup.
Strong should get the other regional berth with an easy quarterfinal matchup before another slugfest with Parkers Chapel.
The Lady Bulldogs and Lady Trojans are the two league teams with the most questionable backcourts. Strong has figured out a way to handle pressure but can't make a shot outside of point blank range. Parkers Chapel has shooters galore but collapses under defensive pressure faster than a mobile home in a tornado.
Of course, the thing about the 2A 7-East, everybody can beat everybody. Strong's defense and rebounding will keep it in every game. Parkers Chapel's size inside and perimeter shooting is a tough matchup for every league team. Norphlet' backcourt trio makes it a threat every night.
All three county schools own wins over Bearden and Stephens is also very beatable.
The tournament is truly up for grabs. One team that is a legitimate threat to win the whole thing, won't even make the regional.
It's been that kind of season.

A funny story

Here's a little humor courtesy of Lee Scroggins:

An old prospector walks his tired old mule into a western town one day. He'd been out in the desert for about six months without a drop of whiskey, and was mighty dry.
He walked up to the first saloon he came to and tied his old mule to the hitch rail. As he stood there brushing some of the dust from his face and clothes, a young gunslinger walked out of the saloon with a gun in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other.
The gunslinger looked at the old man and laughed, saying, "Hey old man, have you ever danced?"
The old man looked up at the gunslinger and said, "No,I never did dance. I just never wanted to."
A crowd had gathered by then and the gunslinger said,"Well, you old fool, you're gonna' dance now," and started shooting at the old man' s feet. The old prospector was hopping around and everybody was laughing. When the gunslinger fired his last bullet, he holstered his gun and turned around to go back into the saloon.
The old man reached up on the mule, drew his shotgun, and pulled both hammers back making a double clicking sound. The gunslinger heard the sound and everything got quiet. The crowd watched as the gunslinger slowly turned around looking down both barrels of the shotgun.
The old man asked, "Son, did you ever kiss a mule square on the ass?"
The gunslinger swallowed hard and said, "No. But I've always wanted to."
The moral of this story is:
#1. Don't waste ammunition.
#2. Don't mess with old guys

Young coaches are everywhere

Former Parkers Chapel standout Jamie Ball called Tuesday. Ball, in her first year as head coach at Genoa Central, clinched second place in that conference to qualify for the regionals.
After going through Hell at Junction City, Ball was clearly excited about her first postseason berth as a coach. The Lady Dragons started slowly but are peaking at the right time.
Genoa Central is currently 13-10 overall and 10-4 in conference.
***
While watching El Dorado beat Sheridan 59-52 on Tuesday, I ran into another former Union County player. Former Norphlet standout Amy Kennedy is an assistant coach at Sheridan.
I had no idea but Kennedy has been there for a couple of years now.
She said she's looking forward to getting a head coaching job at a small school in the near future.
***
It's fun watching coaches whom I covered in junior high. Actually, it's kind of depressing.
Anyway, former Parkers Chapel player Katy O'Pry is getting married. I believe she's in the coaching profession and former Union player Sharonda Davis just finished her student teaching at El Dorado.
On the men's side, Josh Smith, formerly of Union, is working under Clancie Layman at Parkers Chapel. Assistant coach Adam Bishop, who fancies himself a football man, has already surrendered second-in-command status to Smith during basketball.

Where's your ring, Cooper?

It must really suck to be Cooper Manning right about now. Cooper is the older brother to Peyton and Eli Manning, the last two Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks.
Talk about sibling rivalry.
How hard is that?
Father Archie was a professional quarterback and one of the all-time greats. He has three sons, two of whom win Super Bowl championships.
It doesn't matter if Cooper is a top-notch brain surgeon. That's still only good for third place in the Manning household. I don't care if he saves lives with his own bare hands, he's still sitting at the kiddie table when he goes home for Thanksgiving.
"Hey, I'd like to introduce you to my three sons. Peyton is quarterback for the Colts. He's wearing his Super Bowl ring there. That's my youngest boy Eli. He quarterbacks the Giants. Where's your Super Bowl ring, boy. Show him your ring. Yeah, that's right, two Super Bowl quarterbacks in my family.
"Oh, my other son? Yeah, that's Cooper. Nope, he's not a quarterback. Hey Coop, show 'em your high school class ring."
I thought I hated family reunions.

Freaky Friday

Friday night was a difficult one for me to digest as far as my local girls basketball teams.
I'm trying to decide which team to hitch my wagon to for my postseason ride. Unfortunately, the ride this season could be rather short.
I was excited Thursday after Parkers Chapel mercy ruled Bearden. Then, the Lady Trojans went to Bearden on Friday and lost 40-38.
In my 17 some years of doing this, I've never seen a 30-point swing in less than 24 hours. I didn't go to Bearden so I have absolutely no clue how a team can lose to a squad it just destroyed a day earlier.
Perhaps it was overconfidence. I know the Lady Bears have a great homecourt edge. I watched Strong get, literally, mauled at Bearden last year. But, that was a great Bearden team.
I really thought this PC squad would beat this Bearden squad every single time they met in any location.
Obviously, I'm a little concerned about my Lady Trojans.
Strong went to Norphlet and got run out of the gym. The Lady Bulldogs have been a mystery to me because they have a good record with good wins over good teams. Yet, when I look at them I see a team with suspect ball handling, no outside shooting and little offensive skill.
The bottom line is winning, however, and they've been doing that. At least, they had been until Friday.
Strong will compete. But, the Lady Bulldogs' lack of offensive skill players has had me worried all year. Will it finally catch up with them?
Finally, El Dorado laid two eggs in a row last week. I expected Friday's brutal butt whuppin' at Little Rock Parkview. But, I thought they'd do a lot better at home against Watson Chapel on Tuesday.
I'm actually a lot more concerned about the Lady Wildcats than I am about Parkers Chapel. The Lady Trojans have only had one bad loss lately. El Dorado has had several, including losing at cellar-dweller Benton in overtime.
I've been fortunate these past few years to have followed teams deep into the state tournament.
But, teams that get blown out at Norphlet and lose at places like Bearden and Benton don't normally last very long at state, if they even make it that far.
I love the state tournament. But, I can't watch it if there isn't a local team participating. I hope somebody gets their act together fast.
***
In the Gulf South, OBU's Maranda Parker was ranked fifth in the conference in free throw percentage in league games. In five games, the freshman was 11-of-12 from the line.