Homewood’s girls basketball team is determined to make a strong comeback this year after a buzzer-beater by the Minor Tigers in the area tournament last season knocked them out of playoff contention. 

The Patriots began that mission on the right foot, winning their Nov. 11 season-opener against Midfield 76-55.

Last year, the Patriots began the area tournament in a three-way tie with Minor and Parker before that gut-wrenching, last-second defeat.

For head coach Gavin King, incremental improvements will be the key to another competitive year in area play. 

“We want to get better every game, every practice and every day,” King said. “We just need to be a couple of points better this year to be in the playoffs.” 

The team will again compete with Minor, Parker and Jackson-Olin in the regular season before the area tournament.

Junior Ellis McCool believes her team can lean on last year’s experience and their regular season matches to be fully prepared for the area tournament where they faltered last season. 

“I think we can learn a lot from those games and hopefully we take that knowledge into the area tournament,” she said.

The team will lean on several returning players who are key to the program’s success. 

The team has several returning players who are key to the program’s success. Homewood’s seniors Laine Litton, Ava Robinson and Savannah McDonald are experienced and have been on the varsity team for several years. The team also has five juniors who add to the team’s experience and dynamic.

“Our junior class will provide a lot of leadership for us this year,” King said.

The players have been working extremely hard in the off-season on conditioning and have built up stamina and strength for a long season. The Patriots are also blessed with many offensive talents which King believes will make his team difficult to defend.

“We are going to be very good at sharing the ball on offense and the other team is not going to be able to key in on one girl,” King said. 

One of the team’s main focuses this year has been defense. The Patriots are trying to work on playing an aggressive defense while being disciplined and avoiding fouls. 

“We do not want to play a relaxed defense, but we want to stay out of foul trouble,” King said. 

The team is aimed at being the best version of themselves in February when the time comes to play in the playoffs.