Farmington Coach Brad Johnson has preached patience this season, and he believes that philosophy is starting to sink in for his Lady Cardinals.
"We call it a windshield mentality," he said. "All you're doing is looking forward while nothing is in the rear-view mirror. With everything that we're all dealing with right now, you've got to be patient.
"A prime example of that is when we have a game canceled, and we're fortunate enough to find a replacement. That focus immediately turns to the next opponent. The girls flip the switch, and they move on. It's the new normal right now, and our kids have kind of embraced that."
Farmington (8-1) has adjusted well despite not having a program staple such as current University of Central Missouri guard Makenna Vanzant around.
Led by seniors Trinity Johnson and Tori Kersey, the Lady Cardinals have won six games by at least 27 points. Their only loss came on the road to Class 6A Bentonville on Dec. 1.
Since that setback, Farmington has won three in a row by a combined 87 points.
"They've played really well and kind of exceeded our expectations in some areas," Brad Johnson said. "We're like everybody else in the state right now. We look at a lot of things and realize that we've got big areas to improve in, and there's some gaps that we're working to try to fill.
"We didn't have a real offseason, and we're still learning some stuff about our team that we'd normally figure out in June and July. But I think offensively right now, we are playing with great pace and our tempo is really good. We're getting in a rhythm more, and you can kind of see the kids getting comfortable with each other more."
The reigning Class 4A co-champions face a tough road in the 4A-1 Conference.
"We're going to have some learning curves," Johnson said. "We're kind of learning on the fly, and hopefully we'll polish things up by the time conference hits. But we better be ready to roll because it's going to be tough.
"Pea Ridge is loaded, Harrison returned a lot of kids and has a move-in that's been tremendous for them. Gravette is playing at a high level right now, Shiloh Christian has added three new faces, and we haven't even gotten to Gentry, which is a senior-laden team. It's going to be extremely tough."
HIGHLAND BOYS
Staying the course
Highland alternated wins and losses in its first 11 games, but there was an underlying positive in that pattern for the Rebels.
It meant they were at least playing games.
"You really don't know until the day of the game that you're going to get to play somebody," Highland Coach Kyler McLaughlin said. "You just have to do the best job that you can as far as keeping your team safe and follow all the guidelines. It's a lot of losing games and filling in games for us. The phones have been blowing up, calling people.
"It's been a challenge in itself. At this time of the year, the hay's in the barn and the kids want to play. But all we can do is keep working, and the kids have responded well."
Highland (7-5) finally bucked that win one, lose one trend Tuesday when it beat Salem 52-46 to earn back-to-back victories for the first time this season. The Rebels came close to putting together a string of wins earlier in the year before suffering two-point defeats to both Mammoth Spring and Southside Batesville. Those games provided McLaughlin with optimism about his team, as long as the season keeps going.
"You never know," he said. "We may look up in January and [covid-19] goes rampant. So we've gotta try to get as many games in as we possibly can.
"But we want to keep them motivated to come back and keep working and improving on certain things. The kids have done well, though, and they've stayed the course."
FS SOUTHSIDE GIRLS
Losing streak over
The taste of victory didn't end for the Fort Smith Southside girls after beating Dardanelle 49-38 last week to end a 60-game losing streak.
The Lady Mavericks followed it up with a 41-19 victory over Mount St. Mary on Monday. The two wins mark the first time Southside has won back-to-back games since 2014.
"We set certain goals each game, and we blew those goals out of the water," second-year Coach Robert Brunk said. "When we got that first win, we were able to go to them and say, 'This is how we win games.' It became real to them."
Southside beat Dardanelle after falling behind 20-9 in the first quarter. Sophomore Trinity Freeman had 13 points and senior Ashlyn Roffine 10 to lead the Lady Mavericks.
Southside had no problem against Mount St. Mary. The Lady Mavericks were paced by guard Sierra Smith, who leads the team with 13 points per game.
"Sierra is a consistent scoring threat," Brunk said. "Iana Perry and Trinity Freeman are two sophomores who can also score. Ashlyn Roffine is a good player and a leader who does all the things you expect from a senior."
Southside will continue nonconference play with road games at Fort Smith Northside on Tuesday and Waldron on Jan. 1.
WHITE COUNTY CENTRAL
BOYS/GIRLS
No easy task
Jeremy Cude figured his first year at White County Central would be chaotic and fluid at the same time because of issues surrounding the coronavirus.
Turns out, he was right.
"It's been crazy," said Cude, who coaches both the boys and girls teams. "My senior girls are all in quarantine for the third time, and they've only played six games. My senior boys have been in quarantine twice and have had 10 games get canceled.
"On my two junior teams, I honestly can't tell you the last practice or game where I've had all of my top six players for either team present. We started the season in the middle of October, but no teams played in the month of November and we only practiced six times. That's how tough it's been."
Cude said there were times both his varsity groups felt they wouldn't get a chance to play again this season because of all the cancellations and quarantining.
"Everything went downhill there for a minute," he said. "But you just try to keep encouraging them. For a while there, it was a wreck."
The Bears returned to the floor Tuesday and beat Palestine-Wheatley 52-38 to move to 9-3. They, along with the Lady Bears (1-5), are set to return Jan. 2 at Harding Academy – tentatively.
MOUNT VERNON-ENOLA BOYS
Life without Booker
State title aspirations were on the mind of Mount Vernon-Enola Coach Josh Zarlingo before the season began.
Those hopes took a hit when his top player, senior guard and Lyon College commitment Wesley Booker, was lost for the year after tearing his ACL during practice with the season barely a month old.
Zarlingo and the Warhawks are still trying to adjust to Booker's absence.
"We're just trying to grind and battle," Zarlingo said. "I have six seniors, and it's good that I've got some guys that understand and have been through the battles before. They haven't really hung their heads or anything since Wesley got hurt, but they're playing tough and trying to do everything I ask them to do."
Booker was off to a quick start to his senior season after putting together a 37-point, 12-rebound outing in a season-opening victory over West Side Greers Ferry in October, but the Warhawks have been up and down over the past month.
Mount Vernon-Enola (7-5), ranked No. 3 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Class 1A preseason poll, had dropped three of its first four games in December before winning two of its last three. Zarlingo noted that the Warhawks have had to play at a slower pace than they prefer, but he believes the adversity they're dealing with will pay off later.
"It's been an uphill battle," he said. "But hopefully by the end of the year, we'll be in the state tournament."
FAYETTEVILLE BOYS
Bulldogs start fast
Fayetteville is 7-2 with two games left before the start of 6A-West Conference play in January.
C.J. Williams has emerged as a scoring leader, and he's received plenty of support from seniors Matthew Wayman and Landon Glasper. Williams scored 24 points and made six three-pointers in an 80-76 victory over Siloam Springs. He followed with 13 points when Fayetteville beat Russellville 74-57.
"These three are returning players with experience, and we've been leaning on them a lot as we try to put the pieces together," Fayetteville Coach Brad Stamps said.
The biggest concern for Fayetteville is in the front court after 6-6 center Tamaury Releford transferred to Fort Smith Northside for his senior year. That's a huge loss, but 6-4 senior Will Yoakley has been contributing quality minutes.
"Will played only on the sophomore team two years ago and JV last year," Stamps said. "But he came to me and said after last year he was going to work his tail off, and he's done that. He's stepped in and filled that role after Tamaury left. He's shown the value in being patient and trusting the process."
Fayetteville will play away games at Vilonia and Greenwood before opening 6A-West Conference play at home against Bentonville West on Jan. 5.
TIP-INS
Magnolia's 72-22 victory over Hamburg on Tuesday was the Panthers' 37th consecutive victory. ... Fountain Lake opened the season with a loss to Perryville, but the team hasn't lost since then. The Cobras are on an 11-game winning streak and slated to return to action Monday against Jessieville. Fountain Lake's 36-24 victory over the Lions on Nov. 19 started the Cobras' current run. ... Conway and Fort Smith Northside own the longest winning streak in Class 6A, with both having won their past five games.