Junction City’s senior basketball girls will have had more than a week off before traveling to Gurdon on Tuesday for their 2A 8 opener. The Lady Dragons beat Hermitage 64-38 last Monday to run their record to 3-0.
“I think the time off right now will help us. It will give us time to get three or four days of practice in,” said Coach Henry Harrell.
“Try to get back to conditioning. We basically took a week off for the (Thanksgiving) holiday. It will benefit us to get back into the gym and practice and get our legs back under us.”
The Lady Dragons will have a busy week with Gurdon on Tuesday, home against Harmony Grove on Thursday and at Poyen on Friday.
Junction City went 4-22 last season and was 0-12 in conference. The Lady Dragons have lost 15 consecutive league games.
Junction City gained confidence earlier with a 61-59 win at Drew Central, led by freshman McKenzie Flowers’ 27 points. Flowers is averaging 23.6 points per game.
“When we went over to Drew Central and we beat them, it gave us a lot of confidence,” Harrell said. “It was a big win. We had a lead on them and they hit a three and tied the game. Last year they would’ve folded and just quit. But we kept battling. It was Moore who hit a floater in the paint that gave us the two-point lead and gave us the win. It was a big confidence builder for us knowing we could go and play on the road and play well.”
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Smackover will host Genoa Central on Monday. The Lady Bucks lost to Hampton 58-42 on Friday and fell to 1-6 on the season.
Despite the record, Coach Allie Banks believes her squad is heading in the right direction.
“The team effort and the competitiveness of the girls, I was real proud of,” she said. “Obviously, we have some things to fix. We need to be better on the boards and finish some free throws. But overall, I was proud of my girls and their effort and competitiveness.”
The Lady Bucks host Bearden on Thursday and Bismarck on Friday.
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El Dorado's girls got a win at Little Rock Southwest 40-37 on Friday. The Lady Wildcats lost to Drew Central 52-41 and fell to 2-7 on the season.
El Dorado’s boys played Dumas Saturday at Drew Central. The Bobcats pulled out a 69-50 victory.
Raylen Spratt led Dumas with 23 points.
Isaiah Robinson scored 16 points for the Wildcats, all in the second half.
El Dorado opens conference play Tuesday at home against White Hall and will host Camden Fairview on Thursday.
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Parkers Chapel enjoyed a good week after Thanksgiving, opening the 2A 8 with wins over Ouachita 41-39 and Gurdon 60-36.
Krista Rivers scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Tuesday’s down-to-the-wire win over the Lady Warriors. The senior left the game in the second half, battling leg cramps. She returned to secure a defensive rebound and hit a free throw in the final seconds.
“She started catching that cramp I think at the end of the third or first or the fourth. She had a few issues with that last year,” said PC coach Justin Welch. “She’s just one of those players, she has to be out there on the court. The team feels more comfortable when she's out there. She was a warrior for us. She fought it off and got back out there and hit a free throw. Free throws are hard to shoot when you’re cramping. I thought she was a warrior for us, like she’s always been. She is as tough as they come.”
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Sophomore Lilah Welch drained three 3-pointers in the win over Ouachita. The Lady Trojans only hit three buckets in the fourth quarter, two of them were 3-pointers by Welch, who scored 11 points.
“This is her first game back in two years. Well, she came back a few games in junior high last year. Right at the end of the season she played in that regional tournament and hit some shots for us. But she was playing on a torn meniscus,” said Welch. “This was the first game she’s played healthy in two years. She was excited to get out there. I thought she did a good job of staying within herself and not trying to do too much because she’s trying to get back into game shape. For her to knock down some big shots there, I was glad to see that. She came up big.”
Parkers Chapel travels to Taylor on Monday, Harmony Grove on Tuesday and Hampton on Friday.
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West Side Christian’s boys improved to 8-4 with a pair of victories last week. The Warriors have three games scheduled this week, including two at the Prairie View Academy Classic on Friday and Saturday.
“I thought the last two-and-a-half games, our defense has really been tough,” said Coach Randall Miller. “Teams are taking contested shots. We’re not giving many second chance opportunities and then we’re able to get clean outlets and get out into our transition game. Our defense has really fed everything, our alertness and coverage. It’s enabled us to play a cleaner game offensively because we’re out in space.”