The Blytheville Chickasaws return to action Tuesday night with a key 5A-East showdown against rival Greene County Tech.
The Chicks (11-4, 5-1 5A-East) are coming off their first loss of the conference season Friday night at Forrest City and look to start a new winning streak tonight.
"We had a good practice yesterday," said Chickasaw head coach David Hixson on Monday afternoon. "We talked about some issues that we've got to get better at like time management."
Greene County Tech comes in with a record of 3-3 in the 5A-East and 7-12 overall. After struggling earlier in the year, losing to Forrest City, at Paragould and at Beebe on a buzzer-beater, the Eagles have begun to play better of late.
"Tech is Tech," said Hixson. "They're very scrappy and play very hard. I think they've found their niche now. They've got the right combinations and are playing really good basketball right now. Every coach I've talked to that we've played has commented on how much they have improved."
Hixson said the Eagles are versatile on offense and remind him of another 5A-East squad.
"They are a lot like us in that they're not very big and don't have one go-to guy. They have a lot of kids scoring each night and it's always someone different."
Defensively he said they can mix it up as well.
"They're very sound with multiple defenses. They're staple is man to man and they're very sound with it. They help out extremely well. Then they'll come at you with a zone package of 1-2-2 and 3-2 and they're very efficient in that but the thing they really like to do 1-2-2 you at three quarter court and try to trap you."
Action begins tonight at 6 p.m. with the senior high girls. There is no boys B-team game.
afitzpatrick@blythevillecourier.com