Lady Archers strive to win games
By: DAVID KLOECKENER
Photo Editor
With a win over Metropolitan Community College Penn Valley on Jan. 22 and North Central Missouri College Jan. 25, the Lady Archers move to a record of 14-4. The Lady Archers have won their last five games.
Now in the second half of the season, the Lady Archers credit some of their success to team bonding.
“I feel everyone has improved a lot and we’re finally getting chemistry,” Sophomore Guard Kalah Martin said. “We’re just fine tuning a little things on defense.”
With the Lady Archers having one returning player, newer players have looked to Martin as the sole leader of the team.
According to Freshman Guard Abby Hutson, the team has improved as a whole.
“None of us really knew each other coming in here so it was a lot harder to get used to the way everybody played since Kalah was the only one there,” Hutson said. “We finally started to understand how each other plays and we’re finally playing better together. I still think we can pick it up. It’s a lot better than it was at the beginning.”
With a commanding 79-59 win over North Central Missouri College on Saturday, the coaches said they are happy with how the team is handling themselves but are taking the season day by day to make sure postseason play will be in reach.
“It was our best game so far. It was a total team effort and best defensive game we’ve had. It’s definitely a step in the right direction. We’re taking it one game at a time,” Head Coach Shelly Ethridge said. “The kids have their goals and that’s to get back to the National Tournament. We’re not looking ahead of tomorrow. We’re focusing in on each and every game.”
The Lady Archers and coaching staff are preparing for their next game against Mineral Area College. Games that will count for an overall division ranking are few and far between but with coaches and players taking one game at a time, every game is a stepping stone to getting ready for the postseason.
“We play Mineral Area on Wednesday. Mineral Area is a conference game and they’re a Division 1 school. So these conference games aren’t of importance to us but we want to win it. The region games are more important than any game we play,” Ethridge said.
Even with a 14-4 record during the second half of the season, the players know they still have challenges ahead.
“We just need to pick it up, keep playing together and working hard,” Hutson said.
