Every season that Kala Hires Hobbs walks into the gym to begin practice, there is an air of anticipation. Three seasons ago it wasn’t just anticipation but a little nervousness too, breaking the ice with a new program and introducing her style of play to a new team, the Wayne County Lady Yellow Jackets. She inherited a young team that a season later won 25 games, was undefeated in region play, and loss by four points, 28-24, in the Final Four to Veterans High School. The foundation had been laid and the program established coming into this season.
Graduating two starters who were the team’s leading scorers and rebounders over the last two seasons did not change expectations one bit for Hobbs or any player on the team. They knew Hobbs’s expectations, and even with the loss of fire power and no true standout scorer, Wayne County remained determined.
“I knew that we would be losing our two girls that had been our top two leading scorers and leading rebounders the past two years, but we also returned three starters that were a huge part of our final four run last season and stressed the fact that if everyone could step up to their potential, we would continue to be competitive,” Hobbs said. “My girls knew I needed them to step up and do their role on the team. We have to play hard for four quarters, but collectively they know we can achieve the same things we did last year.”
The 2016 season brought New Hampstead into the region and returned South Effingham and Statesboro. The region is athletic and has tough competitors. Hobbs knows and has stressed to her team that they need to play their best basketball to get back to the region championship game.
Wayne County is currently riding an eight-game winning streak and has an impressive 17-3 record, but Hobbs is quick to not be overconfident with the record. It’s been a season of highs and lows regardless of what the score board reflects.
“We are 17-3 going into our last region game and last regular season game, and it has definitely been a season of highs and lows,” Hobbs said. “There have been nights when we performed to the best of our ability and looked like a team that could go deep in the playoffs. There have also been nights when we couldn’t seem to get in the groove of things and it took us three quarters to begin to run a play correctly.”
The Lady Yellow Jackets fought hard during the 2016 campaign, having to rely on a different style of play at times. Without a lot of overall team height and no player shooting above 20 percent from the perimeter, Hobbs put her best ball handler in the post and stressed rebounding collectively instead of one-on-one. However, the biggest weapon in the Lady Yellow Jackets’ arsenal is to play sold-out, relentless defense.
“Last season we began to click after Christmas, and the girls really bought into the concept,” Hobbs said. “This season the girls are playing defense well, but will sometimes struggle on the transition or on the help side. This is something that will have to become instinct to all five on the court to win the big games. We are definitely a team that has to play defense to win. We spend an hour of our practice every day solely working on our own defense. We know that there will be nights our shots are not going to fall, and it has happened, but we can always play defense and do our role to create turnovers and prevent them from scoring.”
The lineup has been a guessing game this season as Hobbs has worked different combinations to put together the best team on the floor. Some of her younger players are just starting to realize varsity time and are getting comfortable playing at the same level as the veterans. Tough practices are starting to pay dividends during games.
“We have struggled with free throws and layups from the beginning, and all I can hope is that we make the big ones once playoffs begin,” Hobbs said. “These senior girls are very special to me. They are hard workers, and I am pretty close to each of them individually. They are all friends, which helps, and I have a lot of pressure on them because I know their potential.”
Seniors on the team include point guard Amani Trice, a three-year starter and vocal leader; Chandler Henderson, a second-year starter and guard; Jada Balsinger, who moved to Jesup last January; Martina Davidson; Allie Hall in the post; and Alexis Derr, who fills the role of the Lady Yellow Jackets’ sixth man.
Junior Alex Thomas and freshman Terren Ward round out the starting lineup. Hobbs has also been impressed with the play of freshman Divine White and the selfless work and effort that junior Tyerra DeSouza and sophomores Bre Wilson and Shay Jenkins bring to the team.
“Last year, after Christmas, every game got better and better,” Hobbs said. “I can’t really say that for this season as we played our worst game after Christmas and then have gone up and down since then. We have had one or two games where some players stepped up and made a substantial difference, but we haven’t really been consistently strong. Hopefully we are headed up from here as this is when it counts.”
Only one week stands between the Lady Yellow Jackets and the first part of the goal that Hobbs’s team sets each October: to win the region. Winning the region isn’t just important for the hardware and emotion, but it could mean that a team can limit the number of miles they have to travel.
“Our goal every year is to win the region, not only for the morale, but of course that home court advantage,” Hobbs said. “Playing in your own gym in front of your own crowd, not to mention not having to travel four hours on a bus, is definitely what we are shooting for. We know that everything has to align perfectly to repeat a run, and it starts with doing our best in the region tournament to ensure this is possible.”
SE-2.17-Wayne-GirlsBasketball
Hobbs Hopes 3rd Season’s the Charm for Lady Yellow Jackets
Written by: John Wood
