Conway has undergone a roster shift that not even Coach Ashley Hutchcraft could have imagined prior to the season, but the Lady Wampus Cats seemingly haven't noticed.
Hutchcraft has Conway undefeated after five games, which includes victories over reigning Class 5A champion Little Rock Christian and a Fayetteville team that was ranked nationally in some preseason polls. A 5-0 start, however, seemed far-fetched before the season began, considering what has transpired since last season.
"We lost eight seniors, had a kid move to Texas and three transfer to other schools," said Hutchcraft, whose team finished 26-5 a year ago. "Going into the season, we weren't real sure how things were gonna go. We knew we had some young ones, but it was kind of a brand-new team.
"I kind of like to call them just blue-collar kids. They come in every day and work hard. There's no entitlement issues or egos. They just work hard."
Hutchcraft lost program stalwarts Myia Elder, Reagan Roetzel and Asiyha Smith to graduation, but has replaced them with freshmen Savannah Scott and Chloe Clardy, and sophomore Jaiden Thomas in the starting lineup. That trio, along with senior Jadah Pickens, are a big reason why things have gone so well, Hutchcraft said. She noted that the only real issue she's had with this year's team involves leadership.
"That's something that we're struggling with," Hutchcraft explained. "We don't have that true leader yet, but I told them just let me do all the leading. We'll figure it out as we go rather than trying to make someone do something that's outside of their comfort zone and character.
"But I really do enjoy the blue-collar side of this group. They just work hard, and I think that makes up for a lot of inexperience."
NORTH LITTLE ROCK BOYS
Stacked Classic
North Little Rock geared up for one prestigious tournament by putting together an impressive showing in another.
The Charging Wildcats, who finished second at the Rumble on the Ridge last week, are set to open the 35th annual Barry Pruitt Hurricane Classic today when they take on Nettleton at 8:30 p.m. Cabot and Russellville will open the tournament at 4 p.m., followed by Springdale Har-Ber and defending Class 1A champ Izard County. Jonesboro and Brookland will play at 7 p.m.
North Little Rock (3-1), which captured the Hurricane Classic last season, won its first two games at the Rumble on the Ridge before losing to Tri-Cities, Ga., 90-89 in the title game. Charging Wildcats Coach Johnny Rice wasn't particularly thrilled about the final outcome, but he wasn't entirely upset, either.
"This is exactly what you want at this time of year," he said. "Obviously, you hate to lose and don't want to lose, but against this type of competition and the level of players we saw [in the final] ... it'll prepare you for what's coming. We need to be in games like that."
WYNNE GIRLS
No pain, all gain
Wynne felt quite a bit of pain during the course of a 92-game losing skid that extended nearly four years. But since the Lady Yellowjackets recently put a stop to the run of futility, they've dished out some hurt of their own.
Tuesday's night 85-50 victory over Mills marked the third consecutive game that Wynne has beaten an opponent by at least 20 points. The Lady Yellowjackets won for the first time since Dec. 30, 2015, when they beat rival Cross County 58-38 on Nov. 12. They followed that up a week later with a 22-point beating of Newport before returning to the court to beat Mills.
Wynne will get a chance to move to 4-0 Friday when it plays at eStem, which is coming off a 48-46 victory over Forrest City.
LR McCLELLAN BOYS
Learning on the go
It's been quite awhile since Little Rock McClellan Coach Chris Threatt has dealt with as much youth as he's dealing with now.
The Lions routinely started at least four of their eight seniors for the majority of their games last season, and they used that lineup to go 24-9 and get within five points of reaching the Class 4A state title game. This year, Threatt has a roster stacked with underclassmen. He knows there's going to be a steep learning curve.
"To our benefit, that's why you play [nonconference] games this time of year," Threatt said. "Some kids think they're ready for things, but then the game unfolds and shows otherwise. At that point, they see those things, and we can go to practice and try to fix it."
McClellan (0-2) has two seniors with quite a bit of experience in guard Eric Woods and forward Traevon Darrough, who combined for 29 points, 18 rebounds and 4 assists in a 72-58 loss to Hot Springs on Tuesday. But there were moments where youth showed, particularly in the second half.
"I think the best teacher is experience," Threatt said. "I can say what we need to do or they can watch older kids do things. But until you actually play and experience those things, it doesn't really resonate the same way in practice as it does when you have some game film to show them."
Sports on 12/05/2019