Refs make the calls

I know the state tournament was last week, but I have a few random thoughts.
First, I've monitored some of the message boards. There has been some criticism for the way the Parkers Chapel girls game was officiated.
Fact is, the referees didn't call many fouls.
Did that have an impact on how the game was played?
Well, yeah. Players had to be tough with the basketball. You had to go up strong on layups and you had to grab rebounds with two hands and be prepared to fight to keep them.
It was not a game for soft players.
But, it was the same on both ends of the floor. And, for the most part, it was the same all the way through the game. The players were given the opportunity to adjust to how the game was called. Good players can do that. Not-so-good players can't.
State championships should be decided by good players. Not-so-good players shouldn't be in state title games.
It was a rough-and-tumble game. If you can't play in that type of game, the state finals is the wrong place for you to be.
That's why coaches put their teams in every possible situation during the season. You have to be prepared for anything.
This brings me to my second random thought.
El Dorado's game against Little Rock Parkview was the complete opposite. The referees called everything. Every touch. Every grab. Every foot slide.
There were so many whistles, I felt like a pretty girl walking past a construction site.
Parkview couldn't adjust. The Lady Patriots got into foul trouble and, instead of understanding the style of game they were in, they started barking at the officials.
In basketball, the officials often dictate the style of play. Officials are human beings, which mean every game is different. As a player, all you can ask is for the calls to be consistent on both ends and throughout the game.
If the game is called consistently, you cannot blame the refs if you come out on the short end.
To win a state title, a team has be to be able to adapt. You have to be able to win a finesse game and you have to get tough when it turns into football. That's what a state championship team is.
Credit the Lady Wildcats but also, my hat is off to the Lady Trojans. I haven't heard one PC player or coach complain about the refs. The Lady Trojans got tough when they had to, just couldn't get a bucket they needed.
I must say, I was proud of both of my girls teams.

What a season!

It's been a long time since my last blog. Lots of things have happened, including the conclusion of the high school basketball season.
Despite all my whining and complaining about the bottom teams in the area not being competitive, the season didn't turn out so bad. For the second year in a row, Union County had three girls teams advance to the state semifinals.
This year however, two teams made it to the finals. Maybe those area teams at the bottom weren't so bad after all.
Okay, I'm not ready to make that statement, yet. But, it was a fun postseason.
I hadn't covered a basketball state final since Strong did its repeat several years ago. I had a blast covering El Dorado and Parkers Chapel in Hot Springs last week.
The Lady Wildcats claimed their first-ever state championship. The Lady Trojans lost to England in a heartbreaker 31-29. Those Lady Lions also eliminated Norphlet in the semifinals.
I felt bad for Parkers Chapel because I honestly thought those girls should've won it. That's the toughest kind of loss to take.
El Dorado, on the other hand, didn't leave anything to chance. The Lady Wildcats dominated Little Rock Parkview from the opening tip. Whitney Frazier had her game-face on and it was obvious, she was not going to let her team lose.
Frazier was the MVP but the key to El Dorado's championship run was her teammates. The Lady Wildcats got the most use out of their semifinal loss a year ago. It seemed like all of the key players got better over the summer.
Bria Snowden went from stand-still shooter to a scoring threat off the drive and via the pull-up jumper. Little sister Sequoia sharpened her handle and emerged as a solid point guard. She joined Emily Sinclair to fill the void at that position. Sinclair ran the team like a seasoned veteran. More importantly, she cleaned up her turnovers and made better decisions.
Kanedria Andrews impressed with her overall game. She gave the team whatever it needed whether it was scoring, rebounding, ball handling or defense. She couldn't do that last year.
Everyone got better at El Dorado.
It's great when a team can take a negative and turn it into something great. The Lady Wildcats, more than any other team, turned last year's semifinal loss into a reason to bust their butts in the off-season.
They did it as a team. It wasn't just one or two. The whole team went to work. From Charlotte Bradley to Hannah Burroff to Marchelle Lockhart, everyone on that team was a better player this year than they were last year.
Give Stephen Harshaw some credit. Give the girls the rest.
I guess it was a pretty good season after all.