They come to practice, work hard and listen to their coach but the girls’ teams at North Sunflower Academy seemed to be destined for the wrong side of the scoreboard each outing.
But they kept at it, believing and working hard and knowing that it would all come together – one day. That day was this past Tuesday when the Varsity Lady Rebels took down Calhoun in conference play, 50-34. Calhoun did not have enough players for junior varsity action so they forfeited those games to the Rebels.
Leading the team was Sam Barham with 20 followed by Rihanna Love with 19. Jenny Hewitt added four followed by Gracie Barrett with three. Lexi Bowen and Mary Neal Kimbrell each had two points.
The game was close with the Lady Rebels leading most of the way but Calhoun kept things close staying within four points for most of the game. NSA Head Coach Jimmy McGregor noted his team switched up some of its strategy but the hard work put in all season paid off.
“It was a good win for the kids. They hadn’t won one at all last year. And it’s a conference win,” Coach McGregor said. “I’m glad for the girls. They were excited and winning brings confidence sometimes. Maybe that will work out for us.”
McGregor noted the Lady Rebels “changed up our defense up a little bit and we had a few offensive sets we haven’t been showing that may have surprised them. We made some good shots and got up on them like 30-20. We probably shot around 60 percent at the free throw line. We need to improve on that.”
North Sunflower travels to Delta Academy on Thursday and then matches up with Regents at home on Friday January 17. They’ll hit the road for a Tuesday January 21st matchup with DeSoto in Arkansas.
Results from the boys’ varsity game was not available at press time.
