Cracks in armor exposed

By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
Early exits last week by three local girls’ basketball teams showed that all three entered post-season play with some serious cracks in their armor.
Those cracks were exposed when the teams took to the larger stage of the Northwest Regional tournament at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
Hartselle’s girls watched an 11-point lead dissipate in the second half against Fairfield in the Class 5A semifinals - a mirror of the Lady Tigers’ up-and-down season that was filled with injuries, illnesses, off-court issues and a lack of depth.
Those troubles were exposed in the heart-breaking loss to Fairfield.
Brewer had its own troubles in its first-round loss to Russellville in what was certainly the Lady Patriots’ worst game of the season.
The Lady Patriots were playing with just two seniors and both of those players - Chelsey Smith and Elizabeth Bromirski - were key reserves in Brewer’s run to the Class 5A state championship game last year where the Lady Patriots lost to Leflore.
The loss just before the season of a key player from that state runner-up team due to personal issues certainly didn’t help Brewer.
Priceville came up short against Deshler again as the Lady Bulldogs watched the 10-time regional champions dismantle their offense with a smothering full-court press.
The Lady Bulldogs lost several key players from last year’s team that also reached the Northwest Regional only to lose to Deshler. And early injury trouble further limited Priceville’s depth last week in Hanceville.
Coaches do a good job of masking depth issues or key losses to graduation during the regular season. But few can keep those weaknesses hidden when play reaches the big arenas of the regional tournaments and the Final 48 tournament in Birmingham.
But the bottom line is that post-season play is no time to be looking for younger players to step up when the stakes are so much higher. And that often proves costly for teams in the regionals and state tournament.
It’s a tough road and only the strong survive.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com