Watson Chapel will go to the Class 5A state tournament as the defending champion, but this year’s Lady Wildcats do not have the feel of last year’s state title team.
It could be because Watson Chapel has a whole new starting lineup.
“People talk about defending the title and it would make more sense if we had the same team,” Watson Chapel coach Leslie Henderson said. “We have high expectations for ourselves. But I don’t think we are thinking about last year’s title. We don’t mention it, and we don’t talk about it.”
But even with most of the key players from the title team gone, Watson Chapel (17-9, 11-2 in the 4A-Southeast) was still able to secure a No. 2 seed. The Lady Wildcats’ only two losses in the 4A-Southeast came against Monticello, which went undefeated in the conference.
The No. 2 seed earned Watson Chapel a matchup with Greene County Tech at 4 p.m. today in Paragould in Tech’s home gymnasium. Henderson said Greene County Tech is a tough game right away.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We are just going to give it our best shot,” she said. “We have a good test playing the home team first.”
Brooke Tabor will be the player Watson Chapel will have to keep an eye on during the game, Henderson said.
“They have one really good player in Tabor, and I think we have to keep her from getting very many touches on the ball,” she said. “I think we have to control the tempo a little bit. They aren’t great shooters, but they are solid players.”
If Watson Chapel advances to the quarterfinals, the Lady Wildcats already know their opponent — Central Arkansas Christian, the No. 1 seed from the 5A-Southwest.
Henderson said the tournament will be extremely tough, but she thinks there are eight teams that have a shot at the title.
“To me, you take the top two from each conference, and all eight have a shot,” she said. “I know Greenwood is the heavy favorite and Paragould is right there, but there could be some upsets, and it could be just about anybody.”
BOYS
Watson Chapel had a lot of changeover from last year with only one returning starter from last year.
There was even a change on the bench as Matt Busch came from Warren to be the Wildcats’ new head coach. But at the end of the regular season, Watson Chapel still found itself in a familiar place — the Class 5A state tournament.
“We have accomplished a lot,” Busch said. “I feel like we accomplished our number one goal to make the state tournament, and I believe they can win and they believe they can win.”
Watson Chapel (14-13, 7-7 5A-Southeast) opens the state tournament at 8:30 tonight at GCT against Beebe. The Wildcats are a No. 3 seed.
Busch said the key to beating the Badgers is to do control the play down low.
“They are ranked number four in the state and that speaks volumes for them,” he said. “They have one really good player with Dayton Scott, and we need to keep him from rebounding offensively and limit his activity around the basket.”
Watson Chapel has its own player Beebe needs to be concerned with — Rodney Ollison. Busch said the Wildcats’ play will be determined on how well Ollison does.
“When you talk about Watson Chapel, you talk about Rodney Ollison,” he said. “When he plays well, everyone gets a piece of the pie. We are going to get the ball to him early, and when he gets going, everyone gets going.”