Parkers Chapel’s senior girls play host to Spring Hill on Tuesday in a key league matchup. The Lady Trojans are 6-1 overall, including four wins in a row, and sit at 4-0 in conference. The perennially tough Lady Bears bring a 6-4 overall record with a five-game winning streak.
A seventh grade game tips off the first of four contests at 4:30 p.m.
The Lady Trojans have played with as many as three starters out due to COVID protocol and won their last game against Smackover in overtime without their coach.
Justin Welch returns to the sidelines tonight. He said the season has been anything but smooth.
“I think they’re starting to kind of hit their groove, as best as we can. I thought we had some really good practices over the break once we were able to get the healthy ones in,” Welch said. “I feel like we’re built for the second half of the season. There’s going to be some ups and downs, but these girls are mentally tough. It becomes a grind, especially when you have to start making up games. We’re starting to get into a little bit of a rhythm, as much as we can.”
The season has been stop-and-start with cancellations and postponements. It’s been that way for everybody.
“This year has been kind of what we expected. I told the girls coming into it, ‘you’re going to have to roll with the punches.’ That’s what they’ve done,” said Welch. “They don’t complain. They come in and they work every day. They’re doing everything I’m asking them to do. We’ll just see how it plays out.”
The Lady Trojans will be without one starter against Spring Hill, which brings the same hard-nosed style to the court.
“They’re going to be really aggressive defensively. They may not be as athletic as they’ve been in the past but they’re really a good fundamental basketball team,” said Welch. “They can score pretty efficiently. They run their offense very efficiently. They’re a hard-working group, kind of that prototypical Spring Hill team that we’ve known in the past. They’re just not quite as athletic as they have been in the past.”
As for the Lady Trojans, they’ve shown they can win ugly. The senior-led squad has had to grind out wins this season. Welch said the victory over Smackover last week was a prime example and believes it will add a level of confidence.
“I think so. I think it gave a lot of our players some experience,” he said. “I definitely think it does give them kind of that boost, knowing, even shorthanded we were able to come out with a ‘W.’ Even though it wasn’t the most-smooth game. It wasn’t as efficient as you’d like it to be. But the great thing is, the girls dug down deep, and they were able to get the win. I was proud of them for that.”
The rest of the season could go the same way with lineup alterations, games in bunches and, just figuring out a different way to come out on top every night.
Welch thinks his Lady Trojans are ready for it.
“I’ve said it before about this group, if you’re going to have to gut one out, they’re a good group to have on your side,” he said. “They’re not going to give up. They’re not going to just slump their shoulders and quit playing. That helps out a lot when you have a group like that.”