By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Munford Lady Cougars Head Coach Steve Poindexter wasn’t in the mood to make excuses moments after leaving his team’s locker room.
He was not happy with his team’s performance Friday night in the William Osteen Gymnasium after taking on the rival Millington Lady Trojans. Although the Lady Cougars were victorious 45-32, Poindexter was disappointed with his team’s body language, poor execution and not matching the effort of the host Lady Trojans.
“This team is not young,” Poindexter said. “We have four juniors on the floor. That’s not an excuse. This is the worst basketball I’ve seen offensively since I’ve been at this school. I am embarrassed.
“Millington wanted it more than us,” he added. “They played like they wanted it more. You could tell. We went through the motions on both ends of the floor. We were not focused on getting good shots. We just jacked up shots.”
The Lady Cougars improved to 2-1 on the season with the win over Millington. In all three games Munford has been without senior point guard Kierra Webb.
The Lady Cougars were missing more than just Webb in the first quarter. Munford kept missing the mark, meanwhile the Lady Trojans used a patient offense to create good shot opportunities.
Millington got buckets from Keyona Johnson, Gabby Knox, Glenda Garner and senior guard Kendra Richardson to build a 10-7 lead entering the second quarter.
Munford took it’s first lead early in the second quarter when Kierra Richardson hit a jumper to make the score 11-10. Millington regained the advantage at 12-11. Kierra showcased her range draining a three-pointer to make the score 14-12.
Munford got a free throw and steal leading to a layup from Shania Johnson to make the score 17-12. Johnna Jones hit a bucket to make the tally 19-12.
It was Millington’s post player who ended its drought when Garner hit a rainbow three-pointer to make the score 19-15. Kierra Richardson and her teammate Precious Mills hit the final two shots of the half to make the score 23-15 at the break.
“We didn’t block out,” Poindexter noted. “We didn’t get in our stance and move our feet. All we did was chase and reach. On both ends of the floor, that’s not the effort someone wearing the Munford jersey should do.
“That’s not what we do,” he continued. “Yes, we won. But from the standpoint of wanting to get better each and every game, we didn’t get better. We didn’t prepare ourselves for anything in this game.”
Munford’s play was slightly better in the third quarter going on a 10-2 run to build a 33-17 lead. Alex Wherry’s jumper gave the Lady Cougars a 16-point advantage.
Kendra Richardson finally moved the score on the Millington side of the scoreboard with a triple. Then her teammate Jherika Brown hit a three-pointer of her own to make the score 33-23. Munford’s Richardson ended any thought of a comeback hitting a long range bomb to make the tally 36-23.
The Lady Cougars were ahead 37-25 entering the fourth quarter. Throughout the final period, Munford nursed it’s lead with buckets from Mills and Richardson’s three-pointer.
Munford left the court with a 45-32 win. But its coach walked out of the William Osteen Gymnasium puzzled and unfulfilled.
“It’s all about the expectations for my team and the mentality they bring to the game,” Poindexter concluded. “They didn’t bring what a Munford player should bring. They didn’t come focused, ready to get better. I don’t feel that we got better. All we did was win a game. That’s all we did was win the game. We didn’t do anything to prepare to move forward.”
