Work to be done
The Conway girls’ basketball team has had moments of high-level play during its first three games of the season, but Coach Ashley Hutchcraft said she still hopes to find a consistent starting five.
Conway has had moments of high-level play during its first three games of the season, but there’s still something missing according to head coach Ashley Hutchcraft.
The Lady Wampus Cats have three starters back from last season’s team that reached the Class 6A state semifinals. Sophomore Chloe Clardy started all of last season, while classmate Savannah Scott and junior forward Jaiden Thomas were regulars before being sidelined by injury. It’s those three who have helped fueled Conway (2-1), which has won against Jacksonville and Jonesboro since opening the season with a 68-66 loss to Little Rock Christian.
Yet, there are aspects of the team that Hutchcraft mentioned needs to be shored up.
“We don’t really know who are starting five truly are to be honest,” she said. “We know three of them, but we don’t know the other two. What people don’t understand is that we had no offseason. For example, there were things we had to figure out in the Little Rock Christian game that we would’ve figured out in June at a team camp.
“I think everybody is just a step behind because of what’s happened this year due to covid. Now, that’s no excuse, but I think it’s going to take teams longer this year to figure things out. The exception to that, though, may be teams that are senior heavy like your Greenwoods or your Melbournes who have won big games already.”
Hutchcraft said the Lady Wampus Cats are feeling the effects of not having glue players like graduated seniors Jadah Pickens and T’yauna Rector in the lineup, both of whom she said brought energy to the group. The overwhelming majority of this year’s team are underclassmen, which could bode well for Conway’s success in both the short and long term.
Just how successful remains to be seen, but the Lady Wampus Cats will get a chance to test that theory at 7 p.m. Saturday when they host a DeSoto, Texas, team that will bring an abundance of talent and a hefty national reputation to Faulkner County.
The Lady Eagles (40), who have beaten their first four opponents by an average of nearly 28 points, are ranked No. 5 in the country by Max Preps and have three players listed among the top 60 in the Class of 2022 by ESPN. Sa’Myah Smith, a 6-2 forward, is their highest rated player at No. 44, followed by Amina Muhammad, a 6-3 forward, at No. 49. Tionna Herron, a 6-4 center, is ranked No. 57.
“They have no preseason tournaments just like we don’t, and they were looking for something different,” Hutchcraft explained when asked how the matchup came about. “They actually called me and were like, ‘Hey coach, do you have an opening?’ I said, ‘Heck yes, let’s make this work.’
“Just to have that caliber of team with those players in that program come in is big. For them to be willing to drive six hours to Conway on Saturday and six hours back immediately afterwards, they’re making it work for us. Hopefully, we can keep the clock from running.”
Conway does have some familiarity with DeSoto. The teams met last season during the Sandra Meadows Classic in Duncanville, Texas. The Lady Wampus Cats led the Lady Eagles for more than three-fourths of the game before a late run allowed DeSoto to escape with a 56-50 victory.