Lady Wildcats Compete At OBU Team Camp

ARKADELPHIA – It has probably been a long time since El Dorado has been truly disappointed with a 9-3 record in girls basketball. That was the case Wednesday as the Lady Wildcats finished up play in the Ouachita Baptist Team Camp.

El Dorado, which started the three-day camp with eight straight wins, dropped three of its final four games, including a 24-17 setback to Arkadelphia in the finale Wednesday morning. Still, El Dorado finished with one of the best records at the camp, which is not bad considering the Lady Wildcats went 5-7 at the event last year.

Coach Brad Slatton wanted to make a statement at this camp and his team did just that.

“We proved we will be somebody to contend with,” said Slatton. “We gained a lot of confidence. We had a real good off season. The girls were anxious to show and wanted to see how far they had progressed. I’ve been pleased. I think we made a statement we will be somebody to contend with.”

Slatton and assistant coach Cory Johnson carried 10 girls to the camp with seniors Falundrus Sims, Kendra Stegall, Meshali Mitchell, Sarah Sullivan, Cassie Tester and April Curley; juniors Kinsel Spivey, Roshunda Aaron and Amelia Roberson and sophomore Kristian Tester. The Lady Wildcats flexed their muscles early, outscoring their first eight opponents 240-116 with wins over Dierks (35-10), Norphlet (34-19), Viola (28-13), Abundant Life (34-8), Bismarck (25-21), Lamar (29-15), Centerpoint (26-13) and Beebe (29-17).

El Dorado had a showdown with Las Cruces’ Mayfield High, which advanced to the quarterfinals of New Mexico’s highest classification last year with a 22-2 record. The Lady Wildcats missed nine free throws and fell 16-12 in an emotional setback Tuesday night. Later that night, El Dorado, playing its sixth game of the day, fell to Poyen, which won 39-33 in its second game of the day.

“I didn’t know how they would come back against Poyen because they were real down after they lost to that New Mexico team,” said Slatton. “They were hurting when they got beat because they knew they didn’t play well. We missed a lot of easy shots. We were playing a team that was defending us pretty good but we still missed a lot of easy shots.”

Poyen, a solid Class AA squad, denied the ball to point guard Kristian Tester, who was seeing her first action with the varsity outside of practice. It was a strategy the Lady Wildcats are sure to face again.

“She was real frustrated because she wanted the ball,” Slatton said of the sophomore. “If we had time to make adjustments we could’ve made some adjustments to get it to her. At the same time, (Poyen) was saying, we’ll play you four on three. We’ve got to take advantage of that, too. Some of the others have to step up and make a play and I think they will.”

El Dorado came back Wednesday morning and bounced Horatio 27-13 before squaring off with Lynn Rook’s Arkadelphia team. The game, which had nothing at stake but pride, had the intensity and feel of regular-season conference contest. The Lady Badgers won a physical, slugfest 24-17.

Arkadelphia, which led from start-to-finish, built a 19-11 lead midway in the second half before Tester scored on a baseline drive and Sims turned an offensive board into a bucket. Arkadelphia hit a free throw before Sims hit two from the line, cutting the lead to 20-17 with 2:55 remaining.

That was as close as El Dorado would get as Kristian Tester went down in a heap with an ankle injury with a minute left and the Lady Wildcats never scored again. Free throws proved critical again as El Dorado missed four in a row at one stretch in the second half.

As the game ended, Arkadelphia’s players raised their arms in triumph. It may have just been a game in a team camp, but it clearly meant more to the competitors.

“I thought we got a lot closer as a team,” said Slatton. “After they lost, I wondered how they would react. Cory went looking for them and they were all in the same room talking. That was real positive. In the past, it would not have been that way.”

All in all, Slatton said he was pleased with the effort from his team. He said the offseason program is already paying off for the Lady Wildcats, who have another team camp scheduled for August at Arkansas Tech.

“The weights have helped us. When we played Beebe, they were running through screens and it was physical,” said Slatton. “Our girls would’ve been complaining a year or so ago. This time they laughed it off. We’ve been as physical as anybody here. We’ve given out as much as anybody.

“Defensively, I’ve been real pleased with how aggressive we’ve been on the ball. I thought they all had stretches where they played well. I was impressed with how aggressive our guards were defensively. I can’t tell you how many steals we got but it was a lot.”

Slatton said he wanted his team to make a statement at the camp this year. While still looking for consistency, the fact that the Lady Wildcats were disappointed in not going undefeated is still a positive statement.

“The kids learned they are legitimate. They’ve gotten to the point where they can get on the court and play anybody,” said Slatton. “This is the first time they’ve experienced other teams a little bit in awe of them. That made them feel good. That is exactly what I wanted to happen this week.”

Said Sims, “We came up here super confident. We’re still confident but that loss to New Mexico upset us. It’s been a good camp for us because we came together more, worked together and built confidence in each other.”