COMMENTARY: Unfamiliarity Will Challenge Lady Wildcats

By Ryan Malashock

Posted: November 16, 2009 at 4:54 a.m.

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Over the summer, Springdale Har-Ber girls basketball coach Sandy Wright joked with family and friends that she “suddenly became a much better coach.”

The source of that declaration: The arrival of three transfers — sophomore Caroline and senior Elizabeth Eubanks from Fayetteville Christian and sophomore Summer Morgan from Tahlequah, Okla.

Of course, Wright made sure to point out she proclaimed herself an improved coach in a mostly sarcastic manner.

The veteran coach is in her 28th season — with previous stops at Bentonville, Springdale High and Sylvan Hills — and she realizes assembling talent is only half the battle. She also knows the other half will determine whether her fourth team at Har-Ber can turn into her most successful group of Lady Wildcats.

Wright’s girls started their regular season encouragingly, winning 62-46 Friday night at Elkins. Judging from that result, the Lady Wildcats must have made ample strides between last Tuesday night and then.

Covering a football game Friday evening, I missed the opportunity to see Har-Ber in action. I did, however, sit courtside for the Lady Wildcats’ sluggish 50-43 benefit-game victory over Stilwell, Okla., three days earlier.

My initial impression: Wright and her players are faced with exactly the kind of challenge they expected.

Wright’s roster is littered with talent, far more than this young high school’s girls basketball program has ever possessed.

Six regular contributors, including the Eubanks sisters and Morgan, stand at least 5-foot-11. St. Louis University signee Halee Castleman is taller than most points guards at 5-9 and sports above-average skills in every facet.

The Lady Wildcats seem sufficiently supplied with role players, as well. Scrappy sophomore Jessica Olson is only 5-2, but she drained three straight 3-pointers Tuesday night and played intense defense.

Junior guards Tori Scott and Chani Wolf appear content to find their teammates and help out defensively. And juniors Maggie Gartner and Micayla Patterson and sophomore Katie Huff should give Wright plenty of post depth.

Still, at times, Har-Ber’s play turned severely sloppy Tuesday night. Turnovers piled up — 23 in fact — and confused looks often spread across the Lady Wildcats’ faces.

Wright constantly encouraged her team, as she has done throughout practices that have contained as much learning as scrimmaging. But afterward, she admitted the acclimation process could take a while.

“We need to learn more about one another and become comfortable with each other,” Wright said. “Our guards really have never had true post players, and we need to learn how to use them.

“We’re not throwing the ball inside when we need to, and when we do, we don’t do it correctly. We’ll figure it out, though.”

Har-Ber has less than two months to develop that chemistry before starting 7A-West Conference play, with the goal of exceeding the school’s best league-finish (fifth).

The Lady Wildcats travel Tuesday to Little Rock Parkview, but they’ll take two weeks off before playing on Dec. 1 at Glendale, Mo.

Har-Ber then will wrap up its nonconference slate with a game against Jenks, Okla., (Dec. 18) and three tournaments — at Russellville (Dec. 4-5), Joplin, Mo. (Dec. 10-12) and Mansfield, Texas (Dec. 28-30).

And by the time Har-Ber’s girls celebrate the New Year, Wright should be able to seriously tell her family and friends whether she’s a better coach. Or at least whether she’s a coach with a team better prepared for conference success.

RYAN MALASHOCK IS A NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS SPORTS WRITER. HIS COLUMN APPEARS EACH MONDAY.

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