COVINGTON, Ga. — The Lady Tigers are revamped and ready for the 2022 season as they look to conquer a tough Region 3-AAAAAA region.
After finishing with a 6-16 record and going 2-8 in the region, head coach Justin Hunter understands the task at hand and feels like his team has what it takes to make a run.
“At the end of last year, we competed and were focused on basketball. This year, that is what we are teaching and are steadily building off that,” Hunter said.
Prior to the season, Hunter went over his roster and emphasized the major veteran presence that his 2022 team will have and how it can be beneficial when the Lady Tigers get into the season.
“This year, I will have several seniors at hand. It is important because those players have been in the program and reflect on the team,” Hunter said.
Carltajah Jackson, Josalyn Branch, T’Erica Smith, Samiya Chinnery and Maria Harris are the seniors that Hunter credited as he mentioned their skill sets in all facets of the game.
Jackson emphasized the work that the team has put in during the offseason and how it can translate to success on the court during the regular season.
“We have been working on the mental things in practice, such as layups, shooting, and moving without the ball,” Jackson said. “I am excited to win more games than we did last year, I feel like we can go far this season.”
One change that Hunter and the rest of his coaching staff made during the offseason was putting a bigger focus on the conditioning of the team.
“This year, our practices have been putting a lot of focus on [conditioning,” Hunter said. “Just knowing the style of play that we want to play, we want to be able to run every minute of the game if necessary as well as being able to hold our endurance longer than we have in the past.”
The Lady Tigers will participate in a Christmas Tournament at Lamar County as well as a chance to play at the State Farm Arena in December when they take on Griffin.
Despite the tough region slate for the Lady Tigers, Hunter believes the team is up for the challenge and can make noise when it is time to make the playoff push.
“We are in a very challenging region this year,” Hunter said. “But I am looking forward to it because it is a true measure of where our team is at.”
