The Pearl River Central Lady Blue Devils and Hattiesburg Lady Tigers competed in a rough match up on the court Friday night with PRC losing 50-27.

PRC is learning how to cope with their leading scorer Brennyn Dossett being out, so there’s been a change in the team’s starting line up and rotations.

Now athletes that weren’t seeing much action are getting minutes on the court, which serves as a good way for younger players to acclimate to varsity basketball. “We’re getting other people who weren’t in the line up to come in. We’ve had to make adjustments so it’s been difficult, but I do think the younger kids are getting used to the pressure. Even though we didn’t win the game, down the road it’s good experience for the kids,” Head Coach Cliff Bauer said.

Hattiesburg put PRC’s young athletes under pressure all night, including implementing a full court press in the second half. The line up changes haven’t negatively affected the team’s offense to a great degree, but dealing with pressure has become more difficult as younger athletes see more playing time. “The team chemistry is good. The ball is moving well, but where we struggle, and what we have to get better at in order to beat elite teams, is when we have pressure in our face. That just comes with experience,” Bauer said.

Breaking a press has been a common theme in PRC’s practice sessions. Bauer knows the best teams the Lady Blue Devils go up against implement full court presses, and if PRC finds a way to get out of those jams the Lady Blue Devils will have a better shot at defeating top tier competition.

“I should have been more focused on that year round. If you can’t break a press you can’t beat (the best teams). I think the large majority of practices from here on out will be how to break a press and that’s hard to simulate, but we have to figure out ways to do it,” Bauer said.