Basketball team to tip off season
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lion basketball team traveled to Coleman on Saturday for a pair of scrimmages, winning both season warm-up games.
The Lady Lions will be on the road Friday, Nov. 6 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off in Hermleigh to open the regular season.
“We were able to add this game earlier this week,” coach Tate Thompson said. “Our schedule will be a little fluid while volleyball playoffs are still going.”
The coach said that he was pleased with what he saw at Coleman during the scrimmages.
“We were a little rusty, but we played some great defense,” he said. “We missed a lot of easy shots on offense, but that will come when we get some more reps behind us.”
The coach is working with a group of 12 players currently and is expecting seven more to join the team when the volleyball season ends.
The main positive the coach said he saw during the scrimmages was work ethic.
“The girls gave good effort, which is something you can work with,” he said. “They really got after it and hustled.”
The Lady Lions are on the schedule to host Huckabay on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 2:00 p.m., followed by a game against Rule on Tuesday night, Nov. 17.
Boys Outlook
Boys head coach Ryder Peacock reported that there are currently five players working out during the athletic period with the girls since football season is entering the playoffs.
“I’m expecting some of the JV football players to shift over to basketball this week, so we will probably be able to play some JV games,” Peacock said. “After football season ends, I’m expecting 27-30 guys total, so we will be able to have three teams.”
The JV boys are scheduled to play in Rising Star on Friday, Nov. 20, followed by a game on Nov. 21 in Woodson.
The coach said that the varsity lost five or six players off last year’s squad, but a big freshmen class is boosting the total this year.
“We will be running three teams as long as we have the numbers,” he said.
The Lions are joining District 10-2A in Region II this season, including previous district foes Haskell, Hawley, and Stamford, plus Hamlin, Cisco, and Anson.
“This will be one of the toughest Class 2A districts around,” he said. “I think all seven teams were in the playoffs last year, with three of the seven winning their districts. Realignment sure didn’t do us any favors this time.”
