Lady Tigers set for tough task against Central-Tuscaloosa
Less than a week after knocking off Sumter Central by one point in double overtime and then losing to Selma by three in the area tournament finals, the Demopolis High Lady Tigers are headed to the sub-regional round.
DHS is scheduled to put its season on the line Thursday when it travels to Central-Tuscaloosa for the third matchup between the teams this season.
Having lost the first two meetings with the female Falcons by a total of 10 points, Tony Pittman said his team has an idea of what to expect this go-round.
“It gives us a big advantage because we know what we’re getting into when we go play on Thursday,” Pittman said. “Our focus right now is doing the small things, correcting some mistakes that we’re making throughout ball games. We’re playing extremely hard. They’re working hard and they’re playing with great intensity. It’s just that we’re losing ball games because we’re not doing the small things right.”
Pittman’s team has no seniors and was working its way through the season with only three juniors. Of that trio, Erica Bennett is in her first year with the program after transferring from R.C. Hatch while Equashia Fikes is in only her second year on the team after sitting out her sophomore year.
But the roster got even younger in January with the team’s leading scorer and most experience player, 6-1 center Caleb Washington, sustained a season-ending injury.
What remains is a five-guard lineup of players with little postseason experience.
“Being so young, they don’t really know what to expect, so we’re going into this thing blind really. But we’re gaining valuable experience, things I know that are going to help us (Thursday) night and also help us down the road,” Pittman said.
While they lack playoff experience, the Lady Tigers do have the experience of playing Central after having seen them for a home-and-home set during the regular season.
“They have low-post players that play extremely hard. One thing that I noticed about them is that they move the ball extremely well,” Pittman said. “When they see a double team, they look to find the open man and they have guards that can really handle the basketball and shoot the ball from the outside. So we’ve just got to be ready for everything.”