By Kyle Roberts
Ruston High Lady Bearcat head coach Meredith Graf knew this season would be interesting before the first whistle.
A substitute arena and an early schedule with lots of road games and torunaments could prove disaster for teams in its first few weeks.
But not for this Ruston squad– the Lady Bearcats have turned that adversity on its head and have started the season 5-1.
“The start of any season is always interesting,” Graf said. “As a coach you take it one game at a time, and try to have your kids as prepared as possible. Every game presents challenges that your team may or may not have covered yet and that is was makes it interesting.”
After getting a season opening win over Benton at home earlier in November, the Lady Bearcats took down both Minden (48-28) and Airline (60-54) on the road, before getting their first blemish in a loss to Haughton (46-26) before getting a pair of wins in the Natchitoches Central Tournament over Mansfield (42-38) and Sulphur (45-25).
“The first week we played four games in five days,” Graf said. “This week we traveled to Natchitoches for the NCHS Tournament for our first overnight trip. You never know how your kids will handle those factors until you’re in it, and I’m proud to say we treated every game as a business trip like we preach and then later got to have some fun exploring Natchitoches. It’s very important to me that our kids learn that balance of work and play.
“Over the first six games, I’m most proud of our fight and playing through adversity. We haven’t been perfect, we haven’t always played great but we have worked through those times and that’s what really helps you develop those team character traits that take you far. We have a great group of girls who are learning to play with each other and trust each other every time we step on the floor.”
During the opening stretch, senior guard Jaliyah McWain leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game, while senior Zaccheya Jackson is averaging 10.8 ppg while also leading the team in steals with a total of 23.
The Lady Bearcats thankfully were able to enjoy a quick breather and will return to action Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Bossier.
“Overall the first six games have shown us our strengths, weaknesses, and will help us know what to focus on for the next outing as we keep working to grow and get better,” Graf concluded.
