The girls are back in the King Cotton Holiday Classic, where the leading team from Jefferson County will kick off the first of two girls basketball games in this year’s rendition.
The Watson Chapel Lady Wildcats will play in the first girls game at King Cotton since 2021 when they face Oak Grove, La., at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. Coach Lenell Brown said the Lady Wildcats have been talking about King Cotton since they first saw it on their schedule.
“It’s exciting being able to play on this national stage,” Brown said. “It’s very exciting. That’s all they’ve been talking about. Granted, we probably play one of the best bigs in the nation right now, but they are excited to go out there and compete and show out and put on for the home team.”
This game will be part of the tournament’s Creed Showcase division, which will consist of eight boys and two girls games on a set schedule. It is separate from the eight-team championship bracket in which the Pine Bluff boys will compete.
There were no girls teams in the past three editions of the tournament. The Watson Chapel girls competed in 2021 alongside Pine Bluff, Sylvan Hills, Shreveport Huntington and Memphis Hutchinson School for Girls.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Watson Chapel (9-3) has won three straight games entering King Cotton. The Lady Wildcats most recently defeated county rival White Hall 70-61 Monday on the road.
They feature an all-senior starting five led by Maranda Emerson, Jayla Rodgers and Alexiah Anderson, players with plenty of starting experience from previous seasons. Anderson led Watson Chapel with 22 points on Monday.
Brown said his seniors, which also include Christian Lovett, Sasha Walker, Jada Briggs and Kaitlyn Williams, have been great leaders for his team which otherwise includes only sophomores with no juniors.
“I wish they had one more year of eligibility left,” Brown said. “They’ve been leaders in practice, during the games, outside of school. They just have been some great leaders. They have done a tremendous job of helping us get back to where we need to get.”
Oak Grove (7-2) features 6-foot-5-inch junior center Caroline Bradley, who was named Miss Basketball Louisiana and Louisiana Gatorade Player of the Year last season. She competed over the summer with the USA Women’s Under-16 national team.
Bradley is ranked as the No. 7 recruit in the nation and No. 1 center in the Class of 2027 by 247 Sports. She has offers from college teams such as Notre Dame, LSU and South Carolina, among others.
Brown said Watson Chapel won’t see a post player like Bradley again this season while playing in Class 4A.
“This is going to be really challenging,” Brown said. “You talking about schemes. You talking about being physical, you just talking about everything. This is really going to set us up and be prepared for the conference and region.”
Oak Grove finished as the Louisiana Division III (non-select) state runner-up last season after falling 48-43 in the state championship game to top-seeded Oakdale. The Lady Tigers were the No. 2 seed in their playoff bracket.
This will be Watson Chapel’s only game in King Cotton with the Lady Wildcats set to compete in a tournament hosted by Episcopal Collegiate next week, but it will not be the only game for Oak Grove.
The Lady Tigers will return on Monday to face another Arkansas opponent, Lake Hamilton, at 1 p.m. Lake Hamilton (11-1) enters King Cotton on a nine-game winning streak.
The Watson Chapel and Lake Hamilton girls will join the Pine Bluff, Bryant, Benton, Little Rock Hall, Little Rock Central, North Little Rock and Barton boys in representing Arkansas in this year’s King Cotton. Oak Grove will be joined by the Zachary boys in representing Louisiana.