After Melbourne romped past Quitman a year ago to win a second consecutive state title, Josie Roark explained to a room of media members that the Lady Katz weren't interested in resting on their laurels.
The then-junior guard asserted that her team wanted to return to Hot Springs in 2021 but with a different purpose.
"We want to make it a three-peat," she said after that 47-28 victory. "Some teams regress, but we're not looking to do that. We're only going to get better."
Not only has Melbourne not regressed, but the team has done exactly what Roark said it would do.
The Lady Katz are better, and they'll be back at Bank OZK Arena today to take a stab at winning a third Class 2A championship in as many years when they face Salem at 10 a.m.
"This is where I lot of people kind of expected us to be," Melbourne Coach Eric Teague said. "In a way, we're kind of relieved I guess because there was a lot of pressure on us. But we're excited to be back, and the girls are ready to play."
From the looks of things, Melbourne (31-1) has been ready to play all season. Behind a pair of Division I commits in Jenna Lawrence (University of Arkansas) and Kenley McCarn (Tennessee-Martin), the Lady Katz have beaten all but one of the teams they've faced. Melbourne took down Class 6A champ Fort Smith Northside, doubled up Class 5A finalist Jonesboro and grabbed victories over Class 5A semifinalists Vilonia and Marion. The Lady Katz also were 6-0 against the other three teams that reached the semifinals in Class 2A.
Twenty-four of the Lady Katz's victories have come by at least 10 points, with its largest margin being a 60-point thrashing of Conway Christian in the first round of regional tournament play. Melbourne's lone loss was a 44-38 setback in its second game of the season at Paragould.
The Lady Katz were already the trendy pick to win another Class 2A title, but the kind of domination they've displayed as the year progressed made them the No. 1 team in the state overall. But Teague explained that his team did endure moments where the lofty expectations and the belief that they were supposed to blow out everyone did get to them.
"They felt the pressure, and I did, too" he said. "We were still winning games, which was good because we had to grind out them out. But here at the end of the year, I told them that it didn't matter.
"It doesn't matter if we win or lose, we just needed to have fun together. We picked up the pace in practices, loosened up and had more fun to the point where we weren't quite as serious at times."
Melbourne did have games where it had to eek out victories, like its 44-42 win over Class 3A power Mountain View or its 44-42 triumph against old rival Marmaduke. But the one team that's consistently pushed the Lady Katz this year is the same one they're playing today.
Salem (22-7) has lost four games to Melbourne this season, but three of them have been by five points or less.
"Salem works hard," Teague said. "They're going to go out there and play you a 32-minute game with everything they've got. I think that's what sets them apart from most teams. They're also very talented, with two super, super guards, and a coach that keeps them prepared."
Teague is just hoping his Lady Katz are a little more prepared than the Lady Greyhounds in their fifth and final meeting.
"We've got to come in, play unselfish basketball and play together like they have all year," he said. "They're going to have to really bear down on defense and be smart. That's the key. We've got to play smart basketball."
2A girls
MELBOURNE LADY KATZ VS. SALEM LADY GREYHOUNDS
Time 10 a.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
MELBOURNE
NO. PLAYER POS. HT. CL.
3 Kiley Webb G 5-3 Sr.
15 Kylee Humphries F 6-1 Sr.
30 Josie Roark G 5-6 Sr.
34 Jenna Lawrence F 6-2 So.
44 Kenley McCarn G 5-9 Jr.
COACH Eric Teague
CONFERENCE 2A-2
RECORD 31-1
POSTSEASON RESULTS def. Conway Christian 88-28 (regional first round), def. Quitman 65-46 (regional semifinals), def. Salem 67-43 (regional finals), def. Riverside 77-26 (state first round), def. Mansfield 68-26 (state quarterfinals), def. Fordyce 70-33 (state semifinals)
KEYS TO VICTORY There aren't many weaknesses on this team. When they're playing lock-down defense at the start, the odds of beating the Lady Katz are slim. Their defense is what's underrated about them. If they're zoned in on that end of the floor, they'll get revved up on offense.
PROBABLE STARTERS
SALEM
NO. PLAYER POS. HT. CL.
22 Greenly Hall F 5-10 So.
45 Amber Yates F 5-10 Sr.
14 Chelsea Hamilton G 5-6 So.
23 Jaycie Strong G 5-6 Jr.
51 Marleigh Sellars G 5-6 Fr.
COACH Josh Bateman
CONFERENCE 2A-7
RECORD 31-4
POSTSEASON RESULTS def. South Side Bee Branch 58-44 (regional first round), def. Bigelow 62-48 (regional semifinals), lost to Melbourne 67-43 (regional finals), def. Rector 50-41 (state first round), def. Acorn 59-43 (state quarterfinals), def. Bigelow 51-42 (state semifinals)
KEYS TO VICTORY Melbourne's Teague mentioned that Salem's guard play gave them fits this season, but the driving force behind the Lady Greyhounds is their no-quit mentality. Avoiding a deficit early will be very beneficial for Salem.
NOTEWORTHY Melbourne was ranked No.1 in the preseason while Salem was unranked. ... The teams have played four times already. The first three were close victories for the Lady Katz, but the fourth one resulted in a blowout (67-43 on March 6). ... The only other Clas 2A teams to beat Salem this year were Marmaduke and Tuckerman.
-- Erick Taylor