To say Pulaski Academy went through a bit of a rough patch during the first two months of the season may not be a strong enough assessment for the Lady Bruins. But then again, when you've been as successful as they have, any evaluation that attaches difficult times to Pulaski Academy is surprising.
The Lady Bruins, who returned all of their starters from last season's team and were ranked No. 1 in Class 4A during the preseason, lost seven of their first 11 games and went through two separate three-game losing streaks in December.
However, what Pulaski Academy is doing now has eliminated any shock waves that were sent during that early-season stretch.
The Lady Bruins (19-8, 12-1) have won 15 of their last 16 games, including 11 in a row by 10 points or more. They picked up perhaps their biggest win during that span Monday when they beat Class 4A No. 5 Wynne 55-41 to tie the Lady Yellow Jackets for first place in the 4A-5 Conference.
"Instead of worrying about the scoring part of things, we've just decided to go back to Lady Bruin basketball," Pulaski Academy Coach Rick Treadway said. "We're starting to guard better and put a little bit more pressure on people. The girls have always been bought in to defense. It's just a group effort on that end of the floor, and things have been a lot better these last four weeks."
Pulaski Academy, which lost 67-62 to Farmington in the semifinals of the state tournament last year, was looking to bust out the gates quickly this season but received some unfortunate news before it even played a game. Senior guard Natalya Kaza, one of the team's top contributors both offensively and defensively, tore her ACL over the summer.
"She's not real big, but she went and got rebounds and gave us 12 points a game," Treadway explained. "She did all the little things. Those 50-50 balls, they always belonged to her. For us, that was tough to overcome because she and those kids have played together for the last two or three years.
"It just took us a while to get all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together."
Treadway did get a boost when Jaidyn Koerdt, a 5-11 guard, transferred in during the offseason following an all-state season at Russellville. Her addition was huge and couldn't have come at a better time, particularly after Kaza was lost for the year.
It did take a while for the team to regain its chemistry, Treadway said, but things have since taken off. A victory today over eStem would give Pulaski Academy the top seed from the conference going into next week's 4A-East Regional in Highland.
"A lot of people were wondering what's wrong with PA, and things like that," Treadway said. "Looking back on who we've played, we were within a couple of points of teams who are really, really good. You're talking about Jonesboro, Nashville, Nettleton, Cabot, Little Rock Christian. ... all are good teams, and we just kept battling.
"I think we've learned from those games, and I feel really good about where we are right now."
CABOT BOYS
On the prowl
Two weeks ago, Cabot was sitting at 1-6 in the 6A-Central and teetering on the outside looking in as far as postseason projections go following its 82-34 loss to top-ranked North Little Rock.
A little over two weeks later, and the Panthers are squarely on an inside track and trending upwards.
Cabot (8-16, 4-7) has won three of its past four and is coming off a thrilling 59-57, overtime victory at No. 9 Bryant. That win, coupled with Conway's loss to Little Rock Central on the same night, put the Panthers 1½ games ahead of the Wampus Cats for the final playoff spot. There's still a full week left before postseason play convenes, but Cabot Coach Logan Bailey is loving the way his guys are performing.
"The kids are playing hard," he said. "We've had some ups and downs, but we've also had some glimpses throughout the season of what we've got going now. Early on, we struggled having any kind of consistency so it's been nice to see that here lately."
That inconsistency cost the Panthers a number of games, especially during the nonconference portion of their slate. All nine of their losses to non-league teams were by 10 points or less. Those woes carried over into conference play when Cabot dropped its first three games by a combined 17 points.
But it wasn't until at 67-54 loss at Fort Smith Northside on Jan. 25 when Bailey and his assistant, John White, decided to make a few changes.
"We sat and talked about some of our struggles offensively," Bailey explained. "We felt like we were kind of in between somewhat structured and somewhat not structured. So we decided we were going to trust our players a little bit more.
"We were gonna joystick more and take a little bit of that structure away, just give them a little more trust and freedom, and it's worked. Guys are more confident shooting the ball, more confident attacking the basket. The lack of structure hasn't caused them to get wild either."
Austin King went wild against the Hornets when he scored a game-high 20 points in what amounted to the team's biggest win of the year. Still, the Panthers aren't in the clear by any means, and they've got a rematch against Northside today. But Bailey believes his group has what it takes to continue its torrid pace over the final week.
"As long as we're not turning the ball over, I feel good about our offense," he said. "Defensively, it's about dominating the paint. We're not very big, but we've got to control the glass and hold teams to one shot.
"That's the key for us, and I trust that our guys will keep doing those things the way they have."
LAKE HAMILTON GIRLS
Howling at the right time
All is well in Wolves country, and Lake Hamilton girls Coach Blake Condley hopes it stays that way.
"We're trying to grow towards that first week of March," he said. "We've done a really good job so far. I like what we've done, and how we're playing as a team."
How the Lady Wolves currently are playing could very well land them in the Class 5A state final. Lake Hamilton (22-2, 11-0 5A-South) hasn't lost in two months and has dominated every one of its conference games. The 14-game winning streak is the longest in its class, and they could cap off a third consecutive undefeated run through the league with remaining road wins against Texarkana, Pine Bluff and White Hall -- teams they've already beaten by an average of 24 points.
Lake Hamilton's success, though, wasn't totally unexpected. It returned eight seniors, led by Arkansas Tech signee Hayleigh Wyrick. The senior guard is averaging 21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals while jumping into a much bigger role than what she had as a junior. Her classmates are doing their part as well, with Audri Winfrey averaging 12 points and six boards and Ginny Higginbotham routinely putting up nine points and four boards while shooting 44% from beyond the three-point line.
That trio, along with the other seniors, have made this an enjoyable year for Condley – so far.
"We've been able to stay healthy, too," he explained. "Knock on wood that it stays that way, but to see the relationships between the girls has been special. I mean, we can't even get Hayleigh to crack a smile when she's having a good night. But let one of her teammates do some good things, and she'll be out there high-stepping. It's the same for Audri and Ginny.
"It's just really been fun."
The fun for the Lady Wolves will really begin when they open up tournament play in a few weeks. They're in position to earn a top seed, and they're hoping to parlay that into a state title.
"We want to be playing our best going into that tournament," Condley said. "Right now, I think we're doing that. But I think the process getting to that point has been just as fun. We're not taking anything for granted, especially with how covid has treated everybody.
"We're enjoying every minute of what we're doing, and that includes practice."
TIP-INS
Jonesboro's boys and girls teams had extended reasons to celebrate Tuesday. Not only did both teams earn victories over rival West Memphis, Golden Hurricane boys Coach Wes Swift got his 300th victory with the program. He's 300-79 at the school and has captured seven conference titles and four state championships with the team. Lady Golden Hurricane guard Ereauna Hardaway scored 32 points in her team's 60-54 win, and in the process, went over 1,000 points for her career. The North Texas signee has been an all-state selection for the past two seasons.