Lady Titans want another shot at state tourney
For the first time in several seasons, the Jacksonville Lady Titans played in the state tournament, finishing the season 14-17. The Lady Titans advanced to the first round of the Class 6A State Tournament, losing to Lake Hamilton 66-54 as the sixth seed from the 6A-East Conference. Third-year Jacksonville coach Marian Kursh wants to build off that experience this season. “Every year, the goal is to grow,” Kursh said. “This is my third year. After looking at the stats, although it was slow progress, we made progress each year. I knew that coming in, it was going to be kind of difficult. The goal and expectations are to grow and get better every year.” During Kursh’s first season, the Lady Titans finished 12-21 before advancing to postseason play a year ago. “This year, surprisingly, we have a lot of young talent, so that is something new,” she said. “But the good thing is the girls have been here, and I don’t have to do as much coaching as I did my first two years. They know what I expect, and they help us in practice.” Jacksonville’s top returning player is junior Shymaryia Christopher, who averaged 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists per game last year. Some of the other players who will help this year include senior Deshundra Shockley and sophomore Ariel Morant. “All of them bring something to the table,” Kursh said. “I’ve got a freshman who is going to be pretty good in Dakarya Jackson.” Jacksonville is now a member of the 5A-Central, which is a combination of former Class 5A and 6A teams, with the restructuring of the Arkansas Activities Association from seven classifications to six. Teams include Little Rock Hall, Maumelle, Little Rock Parkview, Pine Bluff, Sylvan Hills, Watson Chapel and White Hall. Watson Chapel finished as runner-up in the Class 5A state tournament last year. The Lady Titans won’t have to play in a blended conference anymore, playing games against Class 5A teams that don’t count toward getting into the state tournament. “I’m happy about it,” Kursh said. “We didn’t like going up to Searcy. Every year was not fun. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but it was something we had to do. “I think this raises the standards for the girls. They understand that the top four go to state. There is no more ‘we can play and lose and possibly still get in.’ Now you’ve got to take care of business. Me, personally, as a coach, I like it. It challenges the players to do better.” Kursh said she thinks it’s realistic for her team to make it into postseason play. “We’ve got a long way to go,” she said. “We’re in some pretty good tournaments this year. That should really help us out. It will teach us a lot of lessons. “You know how it is when you start off a season. You’ve got a lot to learn. You’ve got to learn your team and how they operate.” Jacksonville will open the season Nov. 15 in the first round of the Wampus Cats Invitational against host Conway.