With a roster only including one senior, the Lady Hornets basketball team was looking forward to getting some competitive time on the court and game experience.

The team took part in the Moss Point Jamboree on Saturday and during the event took on two teams, Hancock and Ocean Springs.

Poplarville’s players didn’t get to play a whole game; instead they played one half against Hancock and another half against Ocean Springs.

The day’s schedule meant the athletes had to spend two hours waiting after their initial matchup before playing again. 

However, even with the strange circumstances Head Coach Robin Jeffries said her team played well.

“The best thing I saw was our transition offense, we did well with that,” Jeffries said.

There were some things Jeffries said the team could improve upon, chief among them being the players’ execution in the half court offense.

With the team still trying to build depth, there were some hiccups as the athletes tried putting the team’s game plan into motion. “Players have to know multiple positions and responsibilities, which makes it hard to multi task. We didn’t execute our offense the way we wanted to,” Jeffries said.

The short spurts of game time meant there weren’t many opportunities for the adjustments that would normally be made during a regulation game. Everything was fast paced, and while it affected the team’s ability to change things up, Jeffries said she was proud of her team’s effort.

Jeffries said another positive aspect of the game was the players’ chemistry and communication on the court.

Basketball is a creative game, which requires players to be vocal, and Jeffries said her players did a good job of that on the floor.

“I thought that was great. I was pleased with the team being positive with each other, and using positive reinforcement,” Jeffries said.

The team is practicing twice a day, once during the allotted school period and after school ends.

Jeffries likes to focus on fundamentals, so said they’ll continue doing full team practices where the focus shifts from offense to defense.

“We’re going to continue to go hard and have a full practice,” Jeffries said.

Poplarville is preparing for the first competitive game of the season when the team takes on the D’Iberville Warriors.

The game will take place on Nov. 15 with the junior varsity team playing at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity squad taking the court at 7 p.m.

It’ll be an away game for the Hornets, the first of many during a season in which Poplarville only has six scheduled home games.

However, Jeffries said her team can’t use that as an excuse, and will need to push through the adversity if they want to have a successful season.