The last time El Dorado’s varsity girls’ basketball team played it dropped a 46-45 decision to Hot Springs Lakeside in Wildcat Arena on Jan. 8.
The Lady Wildcats saw both of their games canceled last week due to COVID. That gave them a whole week to practice and stew in the aftermath of a devastating loss that could’ve easily been a victory.
“As coaches, that was our talking point all week. We kept going back to it,” said El Dorado coach Jae Kell. “I don’t want them to lose that feeling they had after the game, that, we almost did it type of feeling. Right now, they still have that feeling but they really want to get back on the court and prove themselves.”
Kell said the Lady Wildcats used the week to get down to basics.
“We’ve had some hard practices,” she said Friday. “They got a day off (Friday) but that was the only day off they had. The other days they probably wish they’d had off. We had a really good week of practice. I know they are ready to start playing again.”
El Dorado is scheduled to return to action Tuesday at Texarkana. Makeup dates for last week’s canceled games have tentatively been set for Saturday at home against Hot Springs and Thursday, Jan. 28 at Pine Bluff.
The prospect of loading the remaining schedule with makeup games doesn’t bother Kell.
“Playing three games in a week is going to get us prepared for, hopefully, going into a postseason tournament,” she said. “The best teams can play more than two games in a week. That’s what we’re going to prepare for. I feel like we are competitive this year and every game should be competitive, whether we played the night before or not.”
It was a tough week for the players but Kell was busy with her coaching chores as well. She said she scouted Sheridan against White Hall on Tuesday and had plans to watch Texarkana on Friday.
As for the Lady Wildcats, Tuesday’s game at Texarkana is their primary focus as they hope to remove what’s left of the disappointing loss from the memories.
“We’re going to have to play fundamental basketball,” said Kell. “I want to see us get better at a couple of things, mainly our defense. I want us to get defensive stops. And then I want us to be patient on offense and get good shots.”