That’s because they missed so many easy shots, many right under the basket, that they may feel a conspiracy is playing out against them in their latest loss, this one to Heard County, 44-38 in a non-region game on Saturday night on their home floor.
“It felt like a cap was on the rim,” coach Carla Thornton joked after the game.
Despite more shots going out than in, the Lady Tigers were in the hunt until the end and demonstrated plenty of resolve in the game even though they’re without a win at 0-6 on the season and 0-1 in Region 5-AAAA.
“We had some real easy baskets and we just couldn’t finish,” Thornton said. “It kind of flakes your spirit a little bit when you miss those easy ones. I tried to keep the girls fighting and we ran our offense and we had some open looks. Like I said, now we’ve got to focus on those easy little shots in practice more so we can have some confidence so they can fall for us.”
There were positives the team can build on despite the outcome.
The team seemed to played with more confidence, especially in the first half when it led 11-9 after the first quarter and trailed 20-19 at the half.
In the third quarter, it looked like Heard County was going to run away with the game, going on an 8-2 run as shot after shot taken by the Lady Tigers refused to drop.
Troup only scored six points in the quarter compared to 12 for Heard, but the Lady Tigers were only down 32-25 heading into the fourth quarter.
Troup outscored Heard in the fourth quarter 13-12, but it obviously wasn’t enough to make up for the seven-point difference.
Another positive for the Lady Tigers is a permanent point guard may have been found.
Sophomore Deaushanique “Dee Dee” Sanders had her best game as a Lady Tiger, leading her team with 16 points as she took control of Troup’s game, especially in the second half.
“I just want to try to win for my team,” Sanders said afterward. “I want to help them out a little bit, try hard so we can at least get one win. I did good on my free throws, I played good defense, personally I just tried to step it up a little bit.”
Thornton said she’s worked with Sanders without trying to add additional pressure to her.
“I know we’ve been kind of hard on her, because we expect so much out of her,” Thornton said. “We’ve been trying to encourage her more and I think that’s helped her a lot.”
Tamayah Potts followed Sanders with 12 points, and Alexis Leslie added six points.
Troup will have its work cut out for them when it visits Sandy Creek (8-2) on Tuesday.
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