Backs Against the Wall

The temperature hovered in the mid-30s. The girls shivered, posed and managed to crack a few smiles during the photo shoot. For them, enduring a northeastern Oklahoma freeze was a simple task considering the adversity they endure on a daily basis. The East Central High School gymnasium was rendered useless on October 19th. A fire was sparked by a reaction between chemicals being used to refinish the floor. The two-week sabbatical from the gym turned into a three-month, ongoing predicament. “My friend had text me,” said shooting guard Shaylay Stancel. “I saw it on the news. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal but it messed up the gym pretty bad,” said the concerned four-year player. Several team members figured the story trickling out was an elaborate prank. “I thought it was a joke. I didn’t believe it at first. I wanted to see it but I didn’t have a chance,” said point guard Ashley Holdman. She eventually was shown pictures of the gym. No joke. "I thought they were just playing around,” said Tamra Grayson. She was told practice was off because the gym caught fire. But she thought to herself, “Nobody is at the school for the gym to catch fire.” Then she remembered the crews were working on the floor. “We had practice (scheduled) the same day. I called coach Mack,” she said. It wouldn’t be the only question head coach Samy Mack has had to answer through these trying times. The initial reaction of coach Mack? “Oh no, we’re not going to be able to practice.” The team had already gone gymless for too long in his estimation. “I was getting phone calls left and right. Coach, what are we going to do?” What indeed? “It’s been tough,” said coach Mack in what could be considered the understatement of the year. “We’ve been transporting 35-40 girls everyday from East Central to Lewis and Clark or Foster trying to practice.” A couple of middle schools. Coaches love routine. Players need continuity. The team has neither. The Lady Cards schedule has been topsy-turvy. “It’s hard because we have to rush - load up - move to another school - wait for another bus to come get us and take us back to school,” explained Grayson of the dilemma. It’s been controlled chaos. The team is accustomed to walking from class to their home court. Now they are the bus bunch. Center Meagan Wilson was in for a shock the day after the blaze changed the course of their season. “Get dressed, get on the bus,” she remembered coach Mack telling her. “Maybe we’re going to scrimmage. Then I found out that we were going to practice in a little bitty gym that is half the size of our gym. It is so small,” said the shocked Wilson. Why the ‘little bitty’ gym? Their options were limited. “We had one coach call. Terry Scott from Central called and offered us his gym. Nobody else has called and offered us any gym time. Tulsa Public Schools has seven high schools. I just thought that they should have given us one day at each high school to have time on the full court. That’s not what happened,” said Mack. He understands other local high schools are preparing for the season as well. “We should all come together. We’re TPS. We all should be as one. No one helped us out.” said the sharp-shooting Stancel. This ship brakes for no one. “We’re very quick,” says Holdman. The team lost four seniors from their defending championship squad. In fact, the Lady Cards are the two-time defending champs. The sophomore group is extremely talented. Lost for the season with a torn ACL and meniscus is Essence Rice who is not only a talented basketball player, but carries a 4.31 GPA. Combine the senior leadership and athletic youngsters and the receipt for success is in place. The early going will be trial by fire. “I’ll be honest. For us to stay .500 at the beginning, because our schedule is so tough, it’d be a blessing. It’d be real big,” said coach Mack on his troop’s unenviable task at hand. Outsiders may doubt the chances for a three-peat. Other schools may think this year’s team has too large a deficit to make up. Just don’t tell these girls. The usual cast of suspects will attempt to dethrone the champs. Booker T. Washington and Edison appear to be the cream of the crop. Will the opposition, combined with the tumultuous gym situation, be too much to overcome? “People count us out because we lost four seniors but I think we can do it. It’s the end that counts,” says Stancel. Her teammates have her back. “They said that last year and what did we do? They said Edison, Coweta and everybody else was going to beat us. When it was all said and done we walked off the basketball court with the Gold Ball,” said Wilson. These girls refuse to use the gym as a copout. Other squads may have an easier path to victory. Just don’t count this team out.