By Tony Burns
Sports Editor
SMACKOVER - Smackover didn't get off to a fast start during the junior high girls basketball season. But, the Lady Bucks could not have finished any faster, beating Drew Central 31-26 Friday night to win the 8AAA Jr. District Tournament championship.
The Lady Bucks finished the season with a 13-9 record and completed an undefeated run through the league.
"We played a pretty tough schedule. We played three 6A schools and lost to them and we lost to three 4A schools," said Smackover coach Tim Bishop. "We played a tough nonconference schedule and it set us up for the conference schedule. Going undefeated in conference was a goal we had at the beginning of the season. This team went winless last year so to come back win the conference is a big accomplishment."
Laylah Gaston led Smackover with 12 points with Ja'Niya Murphy chipping in seven.
The Lady Bucks had eight freshmen on the team. Bishop said he didn't know if the ninth graders would move up to the varsity team this season. But, he predicted their best basketball is still yet to come.
"I think it is. If they continue to work hard and I know they will, that's a real good group of girls. The future looks bright, right now," said Bishop.
I'm really proud of those girls. They've worked hard. We talked about being champions throughout the season and we would win a championship because we practiced and played like champions. That's what they did. They worked hard all year."