Lady Bulldogs show West title formula

By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
March 10, 2002
JACKSON – Maybe one day the West Lauderdale Lady Knights will win a state basketball championship, but it sure wasn't going to happen on March 9, 2002.
The New Albany Lady Bulldogs made sure of that as they scored nine of the game's first 10 points and never trailed in taking a 74-55 victory in the Class 3A state finals at the Mississippi Coliseum.
Step One to a state championship: Take control early.
New Albany's 6-foot-1 center Ellen Buchanan, an Ole Miss signee, picked up her second foul with 2:57 left in the first quarter and her third just 25 seconds later.
The Lady Bulldogs were leading 9-3 when Buchanan sat down for the rest of the first half, yet New Albany took a 37-27 lead into halftime.
Step Two: Don't feel sorry for yourself if the breaks aren't going your way. They don't give out the big gold balls for receiving the most hard luck. They only go to the winner.
Sanford hit three 3-pointers with Frazier hitting four. Ivy led New Albany with a game-high 22 points. Sanford's and Ivy's point production were pure gravy.
Step Three: Don't wait for somebody else to make the plays, they may end up not being made by your team.
Several of New Albany's points came from simply outhustling the Lady Knights.
Step Four: If you hustle, good things usually happen.
The Lady Knights have only one senior, JaWanda Huggins, on this year's roster, so they should make another run at the 2003 championship.
Step Five: Learn from this year's shortcomings and don't make the same mistakes again.
Step Six: After, and only after, you get steps 1-5 down to perfection, practice your smiles for next year's championship trophy presentation.