Brent Warren likes to focus on the big picture. His outlook is the perfect mesh for a young Lady Bronco basketball team.
The Boyd High School girls team has had its share of struggles this season, with a 3-10 record going into Tuesday’s home game against Community Christian. Still, Warren hopes the best basketball is yet to come for his Lady Broncos, who are breaking in four new starters.
“It has been a rough season as far as wins and losses. With the loss of four starters from last year, we had to replace them with three players that have zero high school experience. We have struggled,” said Warren. “We have learned on the go this year. Turnovers and depth have really hurt us in games.”
While the Lady Broncos have been up and down, they’ve enjoyed their most success in conference games. All of Boyd’s wins have come against conference opponents, where it owns a 3-2 record. With a win Tuesday (the game was still in action at press time), the Lady Broncos would clinch the No. 2 seed for the Middle Tennessee Athletic Conference tournament.
Warren hopes his team begins to believe in itself by the time the tournament rolls around.
“Our mindset will determine how far we go in the tournament,” said Warren. “If we play with confidence and play the way (assistant coach) Jim Carden and I know they can play, we can win the conference tournament.”
Being in the hunt for a conference championship was the goal all along, even if the start of the season made it look like more of a fantasy than a realistic possibility. That’s where Warren’s focus on February was vital.
“Our goal from last summer was to finish. I have a saying that I have told every team I have ever coached at Boyd, ‘It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish,’” said Warren. “Jim and I have gone back to pushing them to play with passion and a chip on their shoulder the past month. Our goal is to play with fire and play hard for each other every possession of every game.
“We have had some struggles and some rough games this year. All that will be forgotten if we finish the right way this year.”
Boyd will play two more times at home this season, including a matchup with local rival Covenant Academy next Monday, Jan. 28. The Lady Broncos play their final home game Monday, Feb. 4 against Daniel One Academy.
The Lady Broncos are scheduled to play in the conference tournament and the NACA tournament in late February.
