Lady Cubs start basketball season after regional shortfall

GRAND PRAIRIE—  The Lady Cubs will not have long to lament on their 14th-place regional finish  with the basketball season opener just days away.

The Lady Cubs cross country team finished 14th in Saturday’s regional cross country meet in Grand Prairie, but none of that matters now as many of the cross country runners will have to make a quick transition to basketball with the season opener against Newcastle just days away.

“At first, it was upsetting,” senior runner Kodee Scott said. “I did not think we did really great and I knew we were not going to get to go on, then we found out how much harder the regional was in comparison to last year. When we found out how much harder it was it was a little bit easier.”

Although jumping from one sport to another, and having to train an entire muscle group, may seem daunting, Olney basketball coach Jimmy Toney said the transition will not be that difficult considering most of the cross country team has been with the basketball team since the first practice.

“We had five of them. We’ve been practicing since the 19th. They (cross country) would come up in the mornings for basketball, then we would switch it to the afternoon to acclimate them for when they would run at district or regional,” Toney said. “They have not missed a whole lot of time. They have been playing basketball this whole time. What is impressive is that they do extra. They do all of that running then come do all of the basketball too. They are in really good shape because they have been running all of those miles.”

The Lady Cubs return from a seven-win season in 2015-2016 and look to continue moving forward this season. Scott said the Lady Cubs’ lack of success this season does not have an influence on Olney’s goals for this season with its primary goal being a district championship banner.

“It’s a lot different this year, I’m a senior and last year we did not have any seniors. We have a new group coming up and I’m excited,” Scott said. “... I want a banner. That is the most direct thing I can think of. 

“To go state would be awesome, but we need to go one step at a time.”