sweetbrains99

Houston plays outstanding team ball and disciplined defense and offense. The Houston girls gave 100% effort 100% of the time they were on the floor. They deserved the win. Congratulations to the girls and Coach Smith for a game well played all the way around.

Congratulations to both teams. Sounds like it was a hard fought game. It's not the state championship, so a loss is just a loss. Sure, with Ashley Herring things will likely be different, and it is very likely Bartlett will get a chance to avenge their loss in a few weeks at the Collierville tournament. Bartlett should have no trouble getting to the finals--the top bracket is not exactly packed with tough teams. Central may have more of a struggle depending on what game Millington and White Station bring and also Houston and Clarksville Northeast. Playing a tough game like the one last night will only make Central and Bartlett stronger, so that if they do get to Murfreesboro, they will be able to face tho middle TN machine with more weapons.

Congratulations to Bartlett for another dominating performance...when a team has 4 key players it's awfully hard to configure the defense to cover them all.

From Bolton, Sarah Watson, sophomore--she plays on a so-so team but she's a post player that can move almost like a guard. She's got some awesome moves under the basket. Also from Cordova, Shay Nelson--just a freshman, she has a scorer's mentality and can deliver from long range or from underneath. Floorburns, I agree with you about Adrienne, but I wouldn't call her an unknown! She's been an awesome player since she was 10--it's not only her athleticism but her smartness about the game that makes her so good.

Finally, how did Houston play Millington so tough? I can't believe your team only had 14 pts. at half time... I wouldn't count Houston out...they are probably one of the top teams in their district. Ridgeway is in their district too, but Ridgeway may not be so tough this year. They are probably the only team in Houston's district that will give them much trouble--maybe Wooddale too. Other teams in their district--Collierville, Overton and White Station are young, and Kirby hasn't looked so strong this year, from what I've seen. With Sarah Watkins and Carolyn Boyd in the post and Amanda Smith back on the wing, Houston has 3 legitimate playmakers and girls who will score points.

I checked scores this a.m. of some of the Memphis games--Coach Gat, looks like you had a game with Houston--congratulations on your win. Now that they have Amanda Smith back, they've got another scorer to cover. And what happened to Ridgeway? They got walloped by Memphis Central 71-32! Memphis Central may be the city winner this year. They seem really tough--didn't they take Wilson Central to OT during the Thanksgiving tournament? Bartlett had no trouble with a mostly young Harding team and Lausanne really beat up some poor little team even without Lauren Avant--what was the score...52-10 or something? Lots of excitement early in the season. Northside, East, Bartlett, Central and Millington seem to be the teams to really watch at this point. It will be interesting to see how things pan out as the season progresses.

I'm glad to see Memphis area girls' basketball talked about on this board, but I am ready to move on from the discussion of the Houston tournament. The Commercial Appeal printed a preseason prep review for basketball this a.m. Those of you in the Memphis area--what did you think? I have some thoughts observations: 1. One page--1/2 for girls, 1/2 for boys, really doesn't do prep basketball any justice. In this town where basketball rules as the supreme sport, why isn't there more coverage? 2. While I can see why they picked certain schools (Northside, Bartlett, Ridgeway) for the girls' "Dandy Dozen," where did they come up with some of their choices? Will Ridgeway really be #1 when the season ends? Why is Wooddale rated--they have Deja Foster, but they had her last year too and didn't make much noise. What is different this year? 3. How does Jason Smith (the sports reporter who listed what he feels are the top girls by Senior, Junior, Sophomore and Freshman class) come up with his names? I agree with many of them, but why wasn't Adrienne Pratcher (East) and ChiChi Okoomabwa (White Station) in the sophomore list? 4. Candis Clear was listed as a junior in one place and a sophomore in another (she's a sophomore). I'm not saying she shouldn't be listed--the girl is deadly at long range--but it's just shoddy reporting. Those of you from Memphis area--do you all agree with the Dandy Dozen as it stands? Who would you add and who would you take off? (Coachgat, I think we know your answer ) Food for thought anyway!

I've been asking around but can't seem to get any information on Cordova. All I know about Cordova is that their freshman class is strong--I don't know how many of them start, but I would guess that at least 2 of their starters are freshmen.

I heard that Memphis Ridgeway only beat Cordova 48-41 this week. Is Cordova that strong, or is Ridgeway not as much a contender as last year, or were they just playing more of their bench since it was just a HOF game? Did anyone see this game? Coachgat, you are up on Memphis BB--any thoughts?

At least you get some pre-season coverage. In Memphis unless you're a DI signee they barely mention girls' BB

Bartlett beat Ridgeway in today's scrimmage So how does Ridgeway look this year without Lakendra Phillips and the girl who was their starting PG last year? I know they still have a lot of returning players, but those 2 were really the playmakers last year. Bartlett is tough for anyone, but just wondering how this year's Ridgeway compares to last year's team... Who did Bartlett add to their roster? Jasmine James, Ashley Herring and Nikki Tompson return as their powerhouse, with Brianna Walker always tough, but last year they didn't have much of a bench...has that changed? Should be a competitive season...hopefully more Memphis teams can give some of the middle TN teams a run for their money in Murfreesboro in AAA.

The Lady Spartans have had 4 coaches in 4 years. That is always a tough road. Hopefully Coach Durham and Coach Condra will stay around a few years at least! They seem motivated and ready to stay around and build a program. These ladies had talent last year but weren't able to capitalize on it much. Their top scorer graduated last year, but much of the talent returns this year with a couple of new additions. Only time will tell if these coaches can harness some of that talent and make it work together enough to have more success on the court. They have not had any scrimmages yet. They were scheduled to scrimmage Bartlett, but the coach had to cancel as it is REQUIRED that all city schools attend these jamborees. Since the jamboree was scheduled the same night as the Bartlett scrimmage, Coach Durham had to cancel with Bartlett. He hated to do it, since the jamboree won't do anything to help the team and playing a tough team like Bartlett would. But he had no choice. The jamboree is just a show really, not good basketball. But thanks for asking, ladysportsfan, the Lady Spartans are hardly ever on anyone's radar!