El Dorado to open state tourney
EL DORADO - El Dorado girls basketball coach Destinee Rogers never lost a game in the state tournament as a player. She led Strong to 2A State titles as a freshman and a sophomore before moving to Camden Fairview, where she led the Lady Cardinals to 5A championships in her junior and senior years.
Rogers will begin her legacy as a coach in the state tournament today when her Lady Wildcats take on Little Rock in the 6A State, beginning at 4 p.m. at Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy.
El Dorado (19-8) is a No. 3 seed while the Lady Warriors are the sixth seed from the East after falling to Searcy (44-35) on Saturday. Hall qualified for state by beating Little Rock Fair 51-44 before losing to Jonesboro 41-31 in the semifinals.
“They’re very athletic. They get up and down. I
like the match-up as far as our size matching up with their size. We need to come focused and ready to play,” said Rogers, who was asked about Hall’s defensive pressure.
“They press some teams. Some teams they don’t. It depends on how we handle it. If we handle the press, they’ll get out of it but if we don’t, they’ll continue to press us.”
Offensively, she said the Lady Warriors attack the basket.
“They’re mostly get-to-the-rim type of players. They have one kid who can step out and knock it down. Other than that, most of them want to get to the rim,” she said.
“We have to play good, solid defense. Keep them in front and box out, get the boards and try to run with it.”
El Dorado has won four of its last five games, including a 49-47 victory over Russellville on Saturday. Despite some sloppy play late in that game, Rogers believes her team has momentum going into the postseason.
“I feel like we do. We had a couple good practices. We stressed what it comes down to right now is who has the most heart and the most fight. Who has the will to win? They’re excited. We’re ready to get up there and get rolling,” said Rogers.
Senior forward Mekaylan Hicks has upped her play lately, scoring 24 points with 14 boards on Saturday. Rogers said this is the time for all the seniors to accept responsibility for the team’s success or failure.
“We’re leaning on them big-time. We need Mekaylan Hicks to continue playing the way she’s been playing. We’re also counting on some young ones to step up. If we get some young ones to step up, who knows what could happen,” said Rogers, who wants the ball in Hicks’ hands.
“She’ll get more touches. She’ll have to handle the ball. It’s big that she steps up and does what she has to do. If she doesn’t touch it every time coming down, then we have issues. We’ll make sure she gets her touches and everyone else gets their touches. We have to play team ball. If we play team ball and we play together, I think we’re tough to beat when we play together.”
Rogers admitted coaching a little differently in the postseason.
In do-or-die games, her leash has gotten shorter when it comes to mental mistakes on the court.
“Right now, it’s a small margin for error. I can’t afford to leave them out there and let them play through five or six mistakes,” she said. “It’ll be a rotation. Whoever is getting the job done, that’s who will be in the game. They understand. That’s the way it’s been in practice.”
“I think they can handle it. Of course the younger ones, they haven’t been there before. They’re going to be a little tight. But, they’ve responded well. We worked on our press offense all day (Monday.) I feel like those older ones have responded really well. We’re just hoping one or two of those young ones will step up and I think the sky is the limit.”
Rogers, who played at the University of Central Arkansas, could tell plenty of stories to her players about competing for a state championship. This will be her first experience as a coach.
“It feels great. But, you know me, I was like this as a player and I’m going to be like this as a coach. Just making it is not the goal,” she said.
“Of course, I’m thankful we made it. But, my goal, it doesn’t matter what team I have, the goal is always, ultimately, to win a state championship. Who knows what will happen? But, I can promise you this, we’re going to play hard and try to be disciplined and stick with the game plan and we’ll live with the results.”
As for her unblemished record as a player at state?
“I haven’t told them. I’m humble about it. I don’t want them to think I’m trying to stick it in their face,” she said. “What I’m telling them right now is, ‘You’ve got to fight. You’ve got to have the heart. You’ve got to be mentally tough.’ If we can do those things and execute, I think we’ll give ourselves a chance.”