Feb. 18—HANCEVILLE — Despite the circumstances, Decatur Heritage head coach Johnny Jones couldn't help but crack a smile after the game.
It wasn't a fun night for his girls basketball team on Tuesday as the Eagles lost to Cold Springs 57-14 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Northwest Regional. Jones though could only look at the positives.
"I'm smiling because we weren't even supposed to be here," Jones said. "To get here with how young we were and everything we faced, I'm extremely proud of these girls. We laid a foundation."
Coming off a state finals appearance last year, Decatur Heritage went through plenty of changes that saw the team competing Tuesday with a freshman, two eighth-graders and two seventh-graders. They had just three seniors, one of whom was injured.
"We lost our best players from last year and then this year we had a girl leave to focus on volleyball, a girl tear her ACL and a girl that was probably the most talented kid in the school go to Tennessee," Jones said. "We took a lot of lumps this season, but it's a process. It takes time and work, but we're coming."
Tuesday's game was a rematch of last year's Elite Eight contest, and Cold Springs was motivated not to have it end the same way.
"We have a lot of veterans that experienced what it was like to lose last year, so we came in with a chip on our shoulder," Cold Springs head coach Paige Adams said. "Our game plan was to focus on (Emma) Eastman because she's their motor. Our girls were relentless."
Cold Springs jumped out to a 19-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and led 34-9 at halftime. Jones said the moment was perhaps too big for his young squad.
""We came in with confidence, but when that ball was tipped, it was a different story," he said. "A lot of our girls had never played here, and I think the nerves got to them.
"They (Cold Springs) did exactly what a veteran team should do against a young team like us."
Ella Dickerson led Cold Springs with 22 points, while Aleah Addison had 16. Emma Eastman and Stella Sims each had five points to lead Decatur Heritage.
Set to return the bulk of their team next year, the Decatur Heritage players feel optimistic about their chances to go even further than the Eagles did this season.
"We're bringing back the core of our team, and we're only going to get better," Eastman said.
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