Semifinal Loss Motivates Lady Mounties

By Paul Nielsen

Posted: November 9, 2009 at 4:49 a.m.

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ROGERS — Every now and then, Rogers High coach Preston Early wants to talk to the Lady Mounties about last year’s 56-55 loss to North Little Rock in the Class 7A state tournament semifinals.

Early uses that game as a teaching tool, and the lesson is that it will take a total team effort to take the next step. Translation: Rogers can’t rely on Morgan Hook alone to bring home the school’s first state championship in girls basketball.

Hook is arguably the best player in the state, and the 5-foot-11 guard will make good on her commitment to Oklahoma when she signs with the Lady Sooners on Wednesday before the Lady Mounties’ Blue-White scrimmage.

Hook was the Arkansas Gatorade girls basketball Player of the Year last season after averaging 18 points a game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Hook capped her junior year with a 30-point effort in that semifinal loss.

But Hook could have used more help that day, and that is the point Early stresses to the team. It’s going to take all eight players in the Rogers rotation to bring home a championship.

“We were so close last year,” Early said. “But it’s not a one-on-one match. Even with (Hook’s) semifinal performance last year, we didn’t get over the hump. I think that is a lesson to our team. Every one of our other people have to be able to do something and bring something to the table and be productive.

“But the good thing is that Morgan elevates people around her, and I think her teammates have fed off that. I think all of our players have put the time in to be more than they were last year.”

But Early also knows everything starts with Hook, and he said the senior has improved her game from a year ago. If that’s true, then that has to send tremors through the rest of the 7A-West Conference.

“Morgan continues to get better,” Early said. “She is better now than she was two, three months ago. She doesn’t sit on her talent and she has an unbelievable work ethic. Morgan’s game has grown even more. We are counting on her to be big, to carry the heavy load and be a clutch player.”

Fort Smith Northside coach Ricky Smith has coached and coached against a lot of good players over the years, and he said Hook is one of the best he has faced.

“(Hook) is one of the purest shooters I have seen in a long time,” Smith said. “What makes Morgan so good is that she is so unselfish, but she can still get 30 on you. She involves her teammates.”

The rest of the Lady Mounties’ rotation, which will include a four-guard set most of the time, includes a healthy mix of returnees and newcomers. Seniors Jazmin Coultas (5-10), Sarah Ross (5-9) and Hayley Clark (5-6) bring extensive experience to the team after seeing playing time the last two seasons.

“Those three have state tournament experience, and we will be counting on them for leadership in big games,” Early said.

Rogers also welcomes senior move-in Taylor Murphy (5-7) from Springdale Har-Ber and sophomore Sarah Grace Groves. Early said Groves (5-9) would be in the starting five if the season started today.

“Groves can put the ball in the basket and she can handle the press for us,” Early said. “She can shoot the three. She has played a lot of basketball, an experienced kid that I think is ready.”

Early is also counting on Madeline Fusillo (5-9), Megan Ganoung (5-8) and Elizabeth Ballard (5-10) to provide valuable minutes.

“We are going to have more depth than we have had,” Early said. “We feel we have a really good eight-player rotation. The last couple of years, we have been about six deep. So, this is pretty much a luxury for us.”

And that is just one more reason that Early is optimistic about the season.

“The outlook and the expectations are really high,” Early said. “We think we are going to contend for a championship. We are not chalking one up. We feel we are good enough to compete for one and I know teams in our league are good enough to compete for a championship.

“Fayetteville and Northside are contenders. But we feel we have the pieces to the puzzle.”

Now, Rogers just has to fit those pieces together.

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