Girls basketball to face MacArthur

Yusra Waris, Editor-in-Chief|January 29, 2019

Photo by Yusra Waris

The Lady Hawks play each other as a part of their preparation for tonight’s game.

Varsity girls basketball has secured a spot in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years and will be playing against Irving MacArthur on Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s actually relieving,” junior small forward Daxia Melton said. “Because we are actually the first to do it in 10 years, I’m really excited to be able to play in the playoffs. I think it’s going to be a good game. Last time [against MacArthur] we didn’t come out as best as we could but I believe this time we’re prepared.”

Undefeated in the district, the MacArthur Cardinals are currently ranked first, with the Lady Hawks in second, two games behind.

“[MacArthur is] very athletic, that’s the first thing that kind of jumps out to me,” varsity girls basketball coach Chalisa Branch said. ”They’ve got guards who can shoot the three from almost 30 feet out. [They] can also penetrate the lane and finish, and [they have] players who can finish around the rim and are very athletic as well.”

The last time the Lady Hawks faced MacArthur, on Dec. 21, they lost 59-33.

“I thought we dug ourselves a hole in that first game,” Branch said. “I thought we came out flat. We were not aggressive at all; I thought we were too passive. We weren’t trapping them which is what we usually do well, our full-court press I didn’t think was effective and I think they got a lot of easy layups from it.”

Freshman point guard Cammie McKinney said the team has been focusing more on solid team defense, something which Branch said the team lacked good transition into after score attempts in its first game against MacArthur.

“As a team we know we will have to be aggressive and super intense from the start,” McKinney said. “We know we have a chance to beat MacArthur, and when we do, we know it will send a message.”

With a quick turnaround between each game, the team spends its time preparing by watching film on their last game and of their opponents’ and participating in game-like situations on the court. Branch said the team needs to work on being able to adjust, being physical and being more consistent.

“Our offense is going to be inconsistent at times, but the one thing we have to stay consistent with is our defense,” Branch said. “We can always play a great defense, we can always get defensive rebounds but that’s the one thing we are still learning to buy into.”

Having played on varsity since her freshman year, junior point guard Sierra Dickson said the team’s overall mentality going into the season was different, which helped with its success in making playoffs.

“I think going into this season I knew that my leadership as well as just having a winning mentality was what it was going to take in order to make it to playoffs,” Dickson said. “I overall feel really excited that we’re in playoffs but I’m trying not to let that be the end goal. Our end goal should be making it as far as we can in post season so that’s what I’m most looking forward to. I think this game vs. MacArthur should be a lot more competitive this time and I’m excited to show people that we can compete with some of the best teams in DFW.”