Poised for the postseason

Sometimes it's OK to let the Lady Bengals roam.

It might not always been the wisest thing or the right thing but in the case of this year's Lady Bengals squad it is probably the best thing to do.

Over the years the Lady Bengals have been under the well-respected and disciplined leadership of John Lomasney but first-year head coach Kamau Turner decided to let the Lady Bengals take a little bit of initiative.

"I think it's way different (from last season), we bond a lot more, we work more as a team, and all we do is run and gun. Last year it was slow paced," co-captain and senior Jeryn Wilson said. "I think we all wanted it last year but last year we were wanting to do things but our coach wasn't wanting us to do things. We just want to run and go, it keeps our adrenaline going."

And the result? An overall record of 12-3 so far this season, winning their home tournament and coming in third at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, where they defeated the No. 2 team in Nevada and the No. 1 5A team in Arizona.

The Lady Bengals were also ranked No. 4 in the coaches' poll on Monday.

For Turner, the talent the team already had was what has made them successful. All he did was push them to work harder.

"I think we're all on the same page, we're all after the same goal," Turner said. "They've done everything that I've asked of them. I have no complaints. They are wonderful girls to work with. They're talented and smart. Right now we're just trying to refine what we do and make it better."

'Important games'

The girls and the rest of New Mexico basketball is headed into what Turner calls the "important games" of district play. It's where the true test lies, but it's a test Turner is sure his team will get through.

"To some people we may not be the favorite," he said. "I think we were picked to finish fourth in the preseason. We're the best team as long as we can execute every night. I think we're the best team in our district.

"Cibola's got a lot of talent," he said. "I think we're going to be a better team than they are. I think we're the favorite."

That's probably because the Lady Bengals have players and co-captains like Wilson, Amber Kitts and Paulette Coffee.

It is the passion, drive and knowledge of these three teammates that represents the strength of the team. Their commitment and desire to succeed are what the rest of the squad feeds off of, and their individual talents are a bonus.

Wilson is a quiet leader and her three-year varsity experience shows on the court.

`Turner said sometimes her knowledge of the game is overlooked.

"She's the one that if we need someone to guard someone it's got to be her," he said. "It kind of doesn't matter how much bigger they are or faster, she's does everything right all the time.

"She kind of gets overlooked because she doesn't want to do a lot of spectacular stuff but she always does the right thing," he said.

And then there's Paulette Coffee, another quiet but effective leader. Coffee is best known for her ball-handing skills.

Turner said Coffee is the one who keeps the team in line.

"She's our best ball handler," he said. "She runs the offense and she does a really good job of that. A lot of her best qualities are she's a competitor and also she kind of calms everybody down. She's kind of like the cool head when it's a tough situation. That helps a lot, you need one of those."

The 'Steve Nash'

And then there's the Steve Nash of the team - Amber Kitts.

Kitts stands only 5 feet tall but plays like she's 6 feet and growing.

The small guard is force to be reckoned with on the offensive and defensive ends.

"She brings the defense," Turner said. "She might be small but she's quick."

Kitts said her fearless demeanor is something she learned quickly.

"Every team I played on I was always the smallest," she said. "My mom taught me to play that way. She said I had to work a lot harder because I was so small."

Turner said it's that work ethic that has gotten Kitts and the rest of the team this far.

 "When leaders are unselfish it's easy for everyone else to be unselfish and they are that way," Turner said. "They don't come and ask, 'Hey, can I see the book, I want to see how much I scored.' A win is enough, winning is what we like to do and our captains do emulate that."

But if you ask the team what's important to them they'll be quick to tell you that it's each other.

It's the bond that they've developed over the past couple of years and even in the past couple of months with their new coach.

Wilson said the team's closeness is what makes them want to perform the way that they do.

"The whole team gets into it," she said. "Our bench comes and helps. I like so far we're playing as a team not only one person."

Coffee agreed.

Coffee said playing as a team makes all the difference in the world and there's nothing more that she enjoys than seeing everyone give everything they've got.

"Its been really, really different," she said. "I think the difference was something good, it's brought a lot of chemistry to the team. We're all together. We all talk to one another, playing together a lot. We just enjoy playing together, we don't get mad at each other we just play."

'Do it better'

For Turner that's all that he could ask for. With district underway, he said the team is beyond ready. All they have to do is more of what they're already doing but to do it better.

"Just working hard, and playing together," he said. "We don't have anyone that could go out there and win games by themselves. We have to execute the game plan and that's one thing that we've done, we've always played hard.

"I think we're ready," he said. "I think we're kind of at that point. We're ready for some important games. Now that we've kind of gone through the grind a little you start to get bored with just regular season games. It's kind of given us some renewed energy. I think we're up to the challenge."

The team knows they're ready.

"We haven't played a game in over a week and we only had one practice," Coffee said Monday. "I think tonight's game (with Albuquerque Academy, which Gallup won, 72-37) was kind of like a start to get us moving again.

"We did OK," she said, "but in order to play with the teams in our district our intensity has to be up and we just have to know that we can play with them and just know that we cant back down."

And Jeryn Wilson has nothing but a district championship on her mind.

 "I think we're ready," she said. "We need to get more practice because of the weather. We're getting back into it to hopefully be district champs."

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