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.
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.
posted by Tony at
7:13 PM
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