Local teams learn where they stand after ACCS tourney

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, November 29, 2006

NATCHEZ &8212; The ACCS Girls Tip-Off Tournament wrapped up Saturday night, and three local coaches got the opportunity to get a feel for what their teams are made of.

Huntington head coach Penny Moak, whose team lost games to Brookhaven Thursday and Oak Forest Saturday, said she learned her team has plenty to work on.

&8220;I learned we&8217;re not in very good shape,&8221; she said.

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&8220;At the end of the jamboree I felt better than I do now. Right now we&8217;ve got to find the right combinations. I&8217;ve got 12 players, but I need to find some better combinations.&8221;

Chuck Bauerle, whose ACCS squad finished 2-1 in the tournament after losing 49-33 to Parklane Saturday night, said his team simply needs more in-game experience.

&8220;We&8217;re just, and I know it sounds like it&8217;s not so, we&8217;re a senior-laden team and we&8217;re still inexperienced,&8221; he said. &8220;We&8217;ve only got two returning starters. We need playing time, we need everyone to step up.&8221;

On the other side of town, Trinity coach Melanie Hall came out feeling pretty good about her team.

&8220;I feel a lot better,&8221; she said. &8220;I had been concerned with the way we had been playing, but today we came out and played the way I believe we can play all year. I want to see more of that.&8221;

Bauerle said it had been pretty easy to identify the team&8217;s current strengths and weaknesses.

&8220;I&8217;ve got a lot of girls that can play,&8221; he said. &8220;Rebounding was a weakness, and blocking out. We need to get our two or three girls on the perimeter really looking for shots. We&8217;ve got good quickness, and we can press. We just have to mature a little bit here in the next four or five weeks.&8221;

Hall said the tournament had answered plenty of questions for her.

&8220;I think this week was a great tournament for us,&8221; she said. &8220;It let us see what some of our strengths and weaknesses are. It&8217;s a little early, but I feel like we learned some valuable lessons.

&8220;I feel like our biggest strength is our unity. These girls are behind each other and pulling for each other. And it&8217;s all for the glory of the Lord.&8221;

Moak, on the other hand, said she would have to find some scorers over the next few weeks.

&8220;I think defense is going to be our strength,&8221; she said. &8220;We&8217;re pretty sound defensively. We really need a lot of work on offense, and we need some better shot selection.&8221;