Carver won’t let disappointing loss in title game hold team back

Last spring, Carver was a late 3-pointer away from capturing the first state championship in program history. With a talented transfer and several others ready to step up, the Lady Tigers hope to set a new standard this season, which begins Saturday against Opelika.

Carver duked it out with crosstown rival Columbus in the Class 4A state championship before losing 69-67 in overtime. Senior players Mya Millner and Maliyah Holloway have moved on, but this year’s team is poised to make another deep run.

“The girls have been working extremely hard,” Carver head coach Anson Hundley said. “They know what the expectations are this year. They’re just looking to move forward. We bring back the majority of the team, and as long as they continue to work hard, we’re looking to make another run.”

Speed has been the name of the game with the Lady Tigers, both in running a breakneck pace on offense and constantly pressing opponents to force turnovers. Hundley described it as a blue-collar team: the workload will be considerable, but the team members just put their heads down and grind.

Ja’Nya Love-Hill arguably displayed this play style more than any other in the title game. Despite her lack of size, the 5-foot-5 Love-Hill was a driving force in forcing the extra session against Columbus players that were as much as 10 inches taller than her.

“We’re really motivated,” Love-Hill said. “I just want to do better than we did last year and actually win it, not just come up short.”

The team’s up-tempo play will likely continue this season, but Carver now has the post presence it lacked one year ago. Olivia Cochran has joined Carver following a stellar freshman year at Hardaway, for which she was named to the Region 1-4A First Team. At 6-foot-1, Cochran will likely remake Carver’s image from being a small but scrappy squad.

Cochran explained the conditioning standards at Carver were something she had to get used to, but at this point she’s ready to roll with her new team.

“We were a small team until Olivia came,” Hundley said. “She definitely brings some size and some post presence that we didn’t have before. We’re looking for big things from her.”

Carver’s path back to the title game is in no way a sure thing, especially with defending champion Columbus sharing the same region. But considering Cochran and the returning pieces, Carver guard Mariah Igus — who also played a huge role on the team last season — is confident about her senior season.

“This year, I think we’ve got it in the bag,” Igus said.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Carver won’t let disappointing loss in title game hold team back."