Southwest chemistry improving, players competing for starting positions
The Southwest girls basketball team has strong numbers and mix of scoring leaders and on-the-floor leaders the Lady Trojans hope will translate to greater success.
At 4-8 this season, Southwest’s wins have been small in number but big in meaning.
“The girls have put themselves on the right side of the bracket in two tournaments now (Verona’s and Southwest’s) and ended both of them in fourth place,” said Destiny Jalbert, Lady Trojans coach. “The girls’ confidence is rising. They are realizing they have the ability to compete, and they are hungry for wins and trophies.”
Southwest’s latest campaign was its home tournament, where Jalbert said she could see an improvement in team chemistry.
“During the Southwest Holiday Tournament, we started playing better as a team,” she said. “We played with a lot of heart and showed a desire to really want the win. Losing to Pierce City [58-55 in the third-place game] was very hard — they played with a lot of heart. If they continue to play with that intensity, I believe they will start seeing more wins.”
Jalbert’s Lady Trojans hope to use a mix of leaders to accomplish that goal, with players like Jaretsi Quintanilla 9.3 points per game), Anna Church (8.3 points per game) and Lyric Bernard (6.4 points per game) leading on the scoreboard, but others leading emotionally.
“Cally Bowyer has made sure our team prays together before each practice and game,” Jalbert said. “She plays with a lot of intensity. She doesn’t have high stats, but without her, we are a different team. The same goes for Kelsee Merritt, a sophomore, who was injured on Dec. 8 and her return is undetermined. She has a great knowledge of the game and is always helping her teammates understand why they need to be doing something. She is a great mentor for our post.”
Church also leads the team in assists with 1.8 per game, and steals with 2.2 per game. Bernard has 1 assist and 1 steal per game, and Zoey Merritt has 3 blocks on the season.
“We can get the ball into the heart of other teams,” Jalbert said. “We are getting a lot of shots off offensively and getting ourselves to the basket, we just need to make sure we are getting the ball in the basket. We have moments when we play great tight aggressive defense; we have moments when we are scary offensively.”
Where there are areas Southwest is excelling, improvements can still be made.
“We have to take better care of our ball,” Jalbert said. “Turnovers are an issue that other teams are converting to easy layups. We need to increase our pressure on the ball and be better aware of what the girl who has the ball is doing on defense. We need to finish when we have a number advantage and learn how to close a game — put the ball in the basket.
“We just need to take each game and play with the intensity that it is the last game of the season for each minute. Every minute of every game needs to stand out to us.”
Averaging 41 points a game and allowing 55 though the first 11 games, Jalbert said the keys to success going forward will be finishing shots, lowering turnover and limiting second chances for opponents.
“We have a deep bench with girls giving minutes on JV and varsity,” Jalbert said. “We have 17 girls (16 healthy) and they are pushing each other. They are competing against each other in practice and cheering each other on in a game.
“Seeing them compete for play time has been exciting. This is a new challenge for a lot of our girls and seeing them adjust to this and push through has shown me that they are going to be great additions to our society as adults.”
Southwest is back in action on Friday, when the Lady Trojans host School of the Ozarks.
