LADY GOBLINS OVERCOME LONG, QUESTIONABLE SEASON

HOT SPRINGS — In the spring when Harrison High School hired Kristian Williams to replace retiring Doug Young as the head girls basketball coach, no one knew what lay in front of the sport or this team.
COVID-19 had already begun and the high school sports had come to a halt.
Williams took over and never had the opportunity to visit with her team.
“I met them through a Zoom call,” she said about her first introduction to the team. “For six weeks, I never met them face-to-face.”
Despite not meeting, the Lady Goblins were still busy.
“I sent them workouts with videos attached,” she said. “This group never missed a one.”
Then the magic day happened and the Lady Goblins were allowed to be in the gym together.
“Finally, we had practice,” said the coach. “But, we could not touch. I mean the adversity in general for these girls has been tremendous and they have never complained.”
The Lady Goblins took a season of situations and turned it into a championship. Saturday the Harrison Lady Goblins defeated Farmington, 68-54, to claim the title of the Class 4A State Basketball Tournament in Hot Springs.
As the season progressed, Harrison missed three games with virus protocol. There were always moments that it appeared that there may not be a high school basketball season.
“Almost daily we were getting calls from coaches that would say that we are not going to play until after Christmas or we are not going to have a season,” said Williams. “We just kept hearing all of that chatter and all of the unknowns in Nov. and Dec.”
The coach urged her players to continue to work hard.
“They still came to practice every day,” she said. “That is what we had to keep saying over and over again. We don’t know. We don’t know. We might as well try our best. We better be prepared if we do get a season and if we get to finish the season.”
Prepared was a key word for the Lady Goblins.
Harrison started the season against several Class 5A and 6A schools. They defeated all of those opponents.
The Lady Goblins finished the season with an 18-0 record. That mark took them to a 4A-1 conference championship. That mark took them to the No. 1 ranking in Class 4A in the Arkansas High School Sports Media Poll. That mark took them to the Overall Poll No. 8 ranking.
With a state championship under her belt, Williams reflected back on the season.
“It was a great year,” she started. “It was a trying year with COVID. In Nov., we didn’t know if we would be here or not.
“I am glad we are here and I can’t even think of a better way to finish it out than with the five in front of me,” the coach finished when looking at her starters at the championship press conference. “I just can’t say enough about the time, the effort and the attitude that these girls put into the season. It shows that hard work pays off.”
Harrison had a successful season and even with the adversity that the team faced, the Lady Goblins won their school’s fifth state basketball title.
Team members inlcude: Alex Hill; Clare Barger; Claire Cecil; Sydney Shrum; Brynn Oleson; Tenelle Tate; Madison Bell; Mariah Hudson; Marianne King; Trevera Whitehorse; Maggie Salmon; Shaylee Ward; Jenna Mae Jones; and Reese Ricketts. Team coaches are Kristian Williams, head coach; Stacie Klott, assistant coach; and Kyle Brashears, assistant coach. Team manager is Shelby Oswalt.