Lady Broncos hit the hardwood in scrimmage against Mount Olive

FAYETTEVILLE, NC – They’ve only been practicing for two weeks. And this was only the first scrimmage of the season.

It just didn’t seem that way to the players on the floor.

Sure, there were more turnovers than any coach would like. And some of the plays – offensive and defensive -- broke down when they shouldn’t have.

But there was hustle. There was fight. There was grit and sweat and fury.

The defending CIAA Champion Fayetteville State Lady Broncos were back on the floor in a competitive setting on Friday evening, taking on Mount Olive in a scrimmage that featured back-and-forth scoring and plenty of physical play.

It was a good experience for a Lady Broncos squad that, as coach Eva Patterson-Heath is quick to point out, is far from the team that cruised to the CIAA title in March. And so even though the layup didn’t fall after the perfectly executed fast break that was sparked by a nifty crosscourt outlet pass off a defensive rebound, Patterson-Heath couldn’t hide a smile from the bench.

“We had several run-outs and some scoring opportunities off of defensive rebounds,” said Patterson-Heath. “Those were good to see.”

But there is plenty of work to be done before the Lady Broncos host Frances Marion at Felton J. Capel Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 12.

“Defense is going to be our forte, and we still have a long way to go before we are ready,” Patterson-Heath said.

Still, there was inspired play from the Lady Broncos throughout in a scrimmage that featured two 20-minute halves and a 10-minute running clock session. The matchup was officiated, but the score was not kept.

“We wanted to see effort, and did I see it?” asked Patterson-Heath. “I saw it in some players and I saw it in spurts. But we’ll keep working hard.”

Fayetteville State will play another scrimmage against St. Andrew’s at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Capel Arena.

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