FAYETTEVILLE — Relaxing in his office, Fayetteville girls basketball coach Bobby Smith couldn’t resist yawning a few times before Wednesday’s practice.
He welcomed the chance to go a few days without having to prepare for a game. The down time was much-needed.
Tuesday’s 57-49 win over Springdale Har-Ber showed Smith that his Lady Bulldogs are a bit worn down following a tough stretch of games that had major postseason ramifi cations.
“Our emotional cup is probably a little spent,” Smith said. “Our physical cup is a little bit spent.”
Fayetteville (26-2, 12-1 7A-West Conference) committed 18 turnovers against Har-Ber, an uncharacteristically high number for a team that’s more accustomed to forcing mistakes than making them.
The Lady Bulldogs also had some defensive breakdowns and needed a late rally to pull out the victory and remain one win away from capturing another 7A-West Conference championship.
“A win’s a win,” Fayetteville guard Calli Berna said. “I think, yeah, we are a little emotionally drained, but it was more like the exciting emotionally drain than anything.”
The past week has been a trying one for Fayetteville, which moved into a tie for the 7A-West lead with Saturday’s win over Fort Smith Northside.
And there’s not much time to relax with the Lady Bulldogs needing to win Friday’s regular-season finale against Springdale High to secure a No. 1 seed for the Class 7A State Tournament.
“We had three tough games last week and three really big games emotionally and physically,” Smith said. “And we just looked maybe a little tired and maybe a half step off (Tuesday).
“Sometimes your desire to win is not what’s in question. It’s justa physically and mentally exhausting season.”
Despite Tuesday’s struggles, Smith said his Lady Bulldogs have hit their stride over the past month. They’ve played solid basketball and looked sharp for the most part as they approach the postseason and attempt toreach the Class 7A State Championship Game for a third consecutive year.
Still, Smith admitted he was concerned about the 18 turnovers against Har-Ber, many coming on careless mental mistakes. He said it was an indication that his players were worn down, or “a littlezapped” as he put it.
A few days off could help.
“I think (Tuesday) night showed us that any team can come close to us if we’re not at our best,” Berna said. “So I do think that we’re going to come out more ready, and these two days of preparation will be good for us.”
Sports, Pages 9 on 02/24/2011