Lady Bulldogs set high bar of expectations

Lady Bulldogs set high bar of expectations

Earle girls seeking back-to-back state titles

By Mark Randall

news @ theeveningtimes .com

You would think that any coach would be relaxed and pleased when his team is consistently outscoring opponents by two-to-one and three-to-one margins.

But not Lady Bulldogs Head Coach Corey Garrett. He’s less concerned by the scoreboard than what he sees the team not doing, whether it’s executing plays better on offense or lapses in the defense.

Although the Lady Bulldogs easily disposed of regional rival Marked Tree by a score of 90 to 41, Garrett still only gave his players a grade of ‘C.’ “I’m pleased with it,” Garrett said. “But as a coach, I see the things we need to be able to do against better competition.

We can’t make those mistakes against better teams.

So even though you win by 50 points, I’m looking at the lapses.”

This is Earle, after all.

And with a tradition of winning state championships, both the coach and the fans have high expectations.

Nothing else matters if you don’t win a state title. The Lady Bulldogs were state champs last season, and Garrett said they are working hard to make it back-to-back titles.

“We discuss it quite a bit,” Garrett said. “That’s the only goal we have.”

So far, the Lady Bulldogs sit at 12-2. They have muscled past the competition with scores like 101-30 over Cross County, 90 to 41 over Marked Tree, 8723 over Barton But Garrett said while the team has seen its share of blowouts, the competition hasn’t been all that tough so far.

The girls see the scoreboard. He’s thinking ahead to a title run. So sometimes it’s challenging to keep them focused.

“Some are blowouts,” Garrett said. “As a coach I am always drilling in to them that the competition is not what I’d like it to be. You have to try and keep them focused and not worry so much about the scoreboard. I know it’s kind of hard to keep them focused when it’s a blowout. But as a coach, you’re always looking and you always want to see them play better and looking for ways to improve.”

Garrett said he is comfortable where the team is at. He’d love to be undefeated. But he’s okay with

12-2.

His seniors are motivated to win that back-to-back championship and they take the court expecting to win.

It’s a stark difference from the days when girl’s basketball wasn’t expected to very much.

“Now, there are high expectations,” Garrett said. “The fans and the players expect us to win. And winning the title is the only goal. It has become that way around here. There’s a lot of tradition around here and the fans are used to winning.”

Earle Lady Bulldogs head coach Corey Garrett prowls the sidelines during a game. Garrett and the team are on a mission to bring back-to-back basketball state titles home to Earle this season.

Times File Photo