Lady Eagles’ mindset their biggest strength
After losing a 6-1 post player and a 5-10 guard to graduation, the Conway Christian Lady Eagles are having to change their entire strategy, both offensively and defensively. “Now my tallest player is 5-7,” head coach Jamie Williams said. “So we are going to be doing some things different offensively to allow us to play to our strengths. I want to play our game and not the other team’s game.” Conway Christian finished runner-up in the district last season with a record of 16-15, losing 47-45 in the first round of the state tournament to Caddo Hills. “We are very low on numbers,” Williams said. “We only have eight girls on the team. I have two sophomores who played last year as ninth-graders, but my sophomores need a little bit of work. “They are definitely going to get in and get plenty of playing time. They have potential; they are just young.” Seniors Kendra Lea and Lauren Kinley are the only two returning starters for the Lady Eagles, but senior Stormy Stacks returns after playing as the sixth man last season. “Kendra is very good at breaking the press and being able to get our offense set up,” Williams said. “Defensively, she’s probably one of my best defensive players, even though she’s my shortest player (5-6). “She’s so fast, and she sees everything so well. She’s able to get in passing lanes and beat people to spots. “She’s just very good at seeing the floor.” Williams said Kinley is also very good at seeing things before they happen. “She’s very sound offensively, and she’s not going to make mistakes,” Williams said. “She makes good passes and has a good shot selection. “She’s a very level-headed player, which is what every coach wants.” Stacks is probably the best overall athlete, Williams said. “Last year, she was my leading 3-point shooter, but she’s so strong that this year, I’m putting her back to the basket,” Williams said. “She’s going to be my post player just because of how physical she is. “We have to have the basketball in her hands.” Stacks was the sixth person on the bench, but she didn’t belong there, the coach said. “I had to start the tempo of the game for her to come in because she just goes and doesn’t stop,” Williams said. “She belongs on the starting lineup because she was definitely one of my best players last year. “She just did better coming off the bench.” Williams said Stacks didn’t sit on the bench very long — one or two minutes, and she was in. “We had to set the tempo, and then she would come in,” the coach said. The Lady Eagles have been hitting the weight room since March, and Williams said Stacks leads the way. “She’s getting up and going to the gym by herself,” Williams said. “She is going to be extremely strong this year.” Sophomore McKenna Vaught played on the junior high team last year but should start this season. Senior Claire Coffey, a transfer from home school, was on the team last year but didn’t play because she was not eligible. Williams said Coffey will start this year. “Senior Rachel Ledbetter should get some playing time off the bench,” the coach said. Last year, Conway Christian only had six girls on the team. “You don’t want to constitute any losses to a short bench, but when you get to postseason, you need energy,” Williams said. “We just didn’t have a lot of it. “The good thing about this group is they don’t see it as a challenge. They give me 100 percent, and they never complain. … If you prepare for a six-man rotate, then you make it work.”
We are very low on numbers. We only have eight girls on the team. I have two sophomores who played last year as ninthgraders, but my sophomores need a little bit of work.
JAMIE WILLIAMS CONWAY CHRISTIAN GIRLS COACH
The Lady Eagles have a very good basketball IQ, Williams said. “We are not going to take a lot of bad shots,” she said. “We are not going to make young-team mistakes. We are very smart, and we work very well together. They genuinely like each other and care for each other. “And they get in the gym when it is not asked of them, and that goes a long way in the offseason.” Williams said the team’s mentality is one of its biggest strength. “They want to win,” she said. “They are in the weight room getting stronger, and they want to get further in the postseason than they did last year.” Conway Christian will open the season with a tournament during the second week of November at Pulaski Robinson in Little Rock. “Before the season starts, we want to have all the kinks worked out,” Williams said. “We want to keep the ball in our hands as long as possible, and we want to play offense the majority of the game. “We want to be in control of the ball.”