Lady Lions take winning streak into tournament

File photo by Mike Buhler Senath-Hornersville's Hannah Kennedy drives on Kennett's Brittney Williams during a game at Senath. [Click to enlarge]

The Senath-Hornersville Lady Lions are playing their best basketball of the season right now and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Lady Lions will ride a 10-game winning streak into this week's Bootheel Conference Tournament, where they will look to bring a banner back home to the Senath-Hornersville gym.

"I am proud of the way the girls represent our school," said Senath-Hornersville coach Jamie Johnson. "The girls play hard every night and conduct themselves well on the court. They play together and our very unselfish. The girls have a winning attitude and that carries over from the court to the classroom as well."

One of the keys to the Lady Lions success is their pressure defense. Many teams have had trouble lately just getting the ball up the court against SHHS.

"I personally feel that our press is very important to our success as a team," said Johnson. "We have made some moves personnel wise and played with some different ideas. We have used our bigs to bring more pressure upon the ball and our smaller players seem to have a lot of success with steals and turnovers. Seleena Neal and Megan Smith are wide and strong, while Randa Jarred and Natalie Bibbs really place constant pressure up front. We use a variety of presses during games to cover up our defenses and cause trouble. I think the ability of our defense to change on the fly during the game causes a lot of confusion for many girls teams."

The changes, Coach Johnson spoke of, were made a few weeks ago and ever since then no-one has been able to stop the Lady Lions. That's when their winning streak began.

"We have been working on our press all year just trying to find better ways to cause pressure," said point-guard McKenzie Harris. "The press is my favorite defense because, you're never just standing. It's a huge part of our game and what we work on the most. We all love it before a game when Coach Johnson says we are going to press. That really gets us going and ready to play. We also have a lot of quickness on our team. Neal is very quick and it is extremely hard to get a pass through Bibbs."

File photo by Aaron Lynn Natalie Bibbs makes a pass through Campbell defenders to find Jami Jackson (15) open in the lane. [Click to enlarge]

The Lady Lions don't just focus solely on being a defensive team though. During this current winning streak, they have been scoring an average of 65-points per game. This has been due to their ability to move the ball around the court and move without the ball. Also, the Lady Lions have great inside players that make themselves available to the perimeter players.

"I think that we are a different team than we were ten games ago," said Johnson. "Harris is shooting the ball well from the perimeter. We need for her to knock down some of those three pointers and she has been doing that well as of late. Neal and Hannah Kennedy can shoot with anyone in the conference, and having three weapons from behind the line opens up our inside game for Smith and Jami Jackson. We distribute the ball well and are very unselfish. I think that is very important for us offensively. The girls are doing a great job of understanding the offense and being patient. No one seems to care who is scoring, wins and losses are really the only stats that they know about."

Jackson said "Playing in that type of environment is great. It comes to show that all of our players can put points on the board. It just depends on who's open."

Neal is one of the biggest standouts for the Lady Lions. She is averaging 24-points per game and really sparks the team offensively.

File photo by Aaron Lynn Seleena Neal shoots a jumper over Campbell defenders. [Click to enlarge]

"Neal is a great player, but her teammates are able to find her open. She works well without the basketball and teams that key on her only, leave others wide open. She is going to score, she knows that. She is also willing to pass the ball to make easy shots for other players. She is a total team player." said Johnson.

When it comes to rebounding, The Lady Lions certainly have height. Although, they do lack the size that some of their opponents possess. It has been crucial to their success to not only fight for rebounds but, to fight for positioning on rebound attempts.

"I think that we are learning everyday about positioning on the inside," said Johnson. "The girls understand the importance of the rebounding game, and for us to be successful we must have three strong rebounders crashing the boards at all times. The addition of Jackson, with Smith, allows for Neal to play inside and out. This allows for Neal to have more freedom on defense and offense. A height advantage is important but the proper technique is critical to successful teams."

After many successful years as the Manager for the Dunklin County American Legion Post 303 baseball team, Johnson made the transition to coaching girls basketball, while still managing baseball. To his girls, the transition has been a good one.

"I think I speak for the team when I say I wouldn't want to have any other Coach" said Harris. "He does so well with us. We have a ton of respect for him. If it wasn't for him, this team would not be a team."

Three years ago, in Johnson's first season as coach for the Lady Lions, there were some struggles and a learning curve. Things have obviously turned around though, as his team is now one of the toughest in the conference.

"The first season was a 4-17 year," said Johnson. "I had to make some changes and understand the game. I watched how other teams were having success, got information from coaches within our system and applied it. The girls deserve most of the credit, they have worked, put in the time and excelled.

I have learned that in many ways girls are easier to coach. The transition was easy at Senath-Hornersville, Tim Carter does an outstanding job in the junior high, and the girls progression was very easy. I coach the girls the same way as I would coach boys. They expect a lot from me as a coach, and I expect a lot from them as players. I have always been fortunate to work with great players, who want to improve their games. I am a competitor who hates to lose, and I have found that with our girls basketball program it was an easy fit, they hate to lose as much as I do."

File photo by Mike Buhler Members of the Senath-Hornersville Lady Lions basketball team celebrate the squad's win over Greenville at the Lady Royals Christmas Classic in Broseley to win the tourney's consolation championship. [Click to enlarge]

Over the last three seasons the Lady Lions have steadily improved their record. The first season they went 4-17, the next season they had a record of 12-11 and they are currently 13-5 this season. When the current varsity team was at the junior varsity level they had a record of 17-0 in the conference and also won the conference championship.

"Our team is very competitive and we always try to find a way to win," said the senior Kennedy. "We play really well under pressure and try to have fun. We always stay really positive. I think Coach Johnson is the best coach anyone could have. He doesn't baby us and he is straight up honest about everything but, if one of his girls is in trouble or needs anything, he's the first one there for us..I'm truly gonna miss him."

The Lady Lions will take on Caruthersville in the opening round of the Bootheel Conference Tournament in Malden on Wednesday night. There is no doubt that the Senath-Hornersville faith-full will make the trip to cheer the girls on.

"Senath-Hornersville is a great school system," said Johnson. "The support flows all the way from the administration to the students. I have always seen this support here, from when I played til now when I coach. The town is very proud of our program, and we are very appreciative of that support. I think that the support of our program from the community is vital to our success as a team."