Sports

DOLLARWAY LACKS DEPTH FOR ‘09-’10

By Sean Saunders/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 12:35 PM CST

The Dollarway Lady Cardinals could be in for a long season this year mainly because they have several factors working against them right at the start, coach Paulette Bell said.

The first is Dollarway has to replace three seniors whom started a number of games throughout their three-year career. Former forward Tachyra Thornton is now on scholarship at Henderson State, and former point guard Brittany Burks is playing at Prairie View A&M on a military scholarship. Former center Raven Jenkins was a double-double waiting to happen as one of the top rebounders in the 8-4A Conference.

Bell said replacing those departed seniors will be a difficult proposition.

“I can’t replace them. I can’t,” Bell said. “I have some talent out here, but it’s just a matter of us being in shape and being in the roles that I have set out for each of them.”

With the departures of Jenkins and Thornton, Dollarway is left with very few who can contend on the block defensively in a league dominated by post play at the top of the ranks. Last year’s teams that made the regional tournament — Star City, Dumas, Fordyce and Warren — all had solid frontcourts.

“We’re just going to have to bear down and play some defense,” Bell said. “That’s all we can do. I don’t have size. My kids are scrappy, but they’re not big. Sometimes, it’s not all about size. Sometimes I’ve had size and their bark was a lot worse than they’re bite. It just depends on each individual school and each individual team.”

Another factor going against Dollarway this year is attrition. The Lady Cards had a few players quit during preseason training, leaving Dollarway with only nine players heading into the season.

“This is all I have. I had more earlier in the year, but they ended up quitting,” Bell said. “They didn’t want to do the running and the work. You can’t just put players out there because they say they want to play. They got to put in some work.”

One thing in Dollarway’s favor this year is a group of four seniors, most of whom saw significant time on the court last year. Guard Krishonna Barnes was solid in backing up Burks at the point, and forward Jasmin Rice provided matchup difficulties with her height on the wing. Guard Quintesha Scott was one of Bell’s top defenders.

But the Lady Cardinals still have to overcome recent shortcomings in conference play. Even with three talented seniors and solid depth, they weren’t able to crack the top half of the league to reach the Class 4A South Region tournament. They swept the 8-4A’s bottom three teams — McGehee, Hamburg and Lake Village — but the top four teams swept Dollarway. It had a chance to make the regional tournament in the final game of the season, but Warren thumped the Lady Cards 45-21 to end their year.

One thing Dollarway struggled with last year in league play was the press, but Bell has the speed to counter with her own press this season. The only problem might be the depth.

“We’re quick enough,” Bell said. “We will do some (pressing), but we won’t do it every game. We’ll just take it game by game in what we’ll do as far as pressing goes.”

With the stakes not in Dollarway’s favor this year, Bell has stressed the team needs to be perfect in its strong suits. With some breaks, it just might still be around once the postseason starts.

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