PDL surging into Tuesday's girls regional b-ball opener

PONCE DE LEON — Accomplished coaches all seemingly share one trait.

They’re not easily satisfied.

Ponce de Leon girls basketball coach Tim Alford has watched his team compile a 25-2 record this year, and the Pirates encountered little trouble last week rolling to the District 3-1A tournament title. PDL hosts Port St. Joe Tuesday in the Region 1-1A quarterfinals at 7 p.m.

“We certainly played well in the district tournament, I thought,” said Alford, now in his 17th season at PDL. “The kids are playing hard right now.”

The Pirates have won 11 consecutive games, the past six by an average margin of 56-34. They trounced Sneads 62-42 in the district semifinals and thumped Graceville 56-38 in the district championship. Alford’s players already have learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of overconfidence, though. The team was 14-0 before unexpectedly losing consecutive games in late December.

“It’s hard when you haven’t lost and you tell them ‘This is going to get us hurt’ or ‘It’s important that we’re doing these things on offense and defense,’” Alford said, noting those losses to Paxton and a team from Cookeville, Tenn. “They played harder than we did. Certainly the game seemed to mean much more to them, and that’s to their credit. (Paxton) absolutely whipped us. The team from Tennessee exposed us.

“I think (the players) kind of understand where they were at. Paxton was just a step ahead of us. If we want to get to that level we have to improve. We’ve certainly been better, but I don’t know if we’ve made it there yet. They’ve got a good team, and they’re well-coached.”

PDL and Paxton remain on a collision course for a rematch in the state semifinals, but both teams need two more victories apiece to set up a rematch. Alford expects a stout challenge from Port St. Joe, a team that will try to dictate the game’s tempo and slow it down. The Tiger Sharks lost 28-12 to South Walton in the District 4-1A championship.

“They’re well-coached, and they’ll be very disciplined,” Alford said. “Coach (Kenny) Parker does a good job. They’ll have a good game plan. They’ll be patient with the ball on offense. That will magnify mistakes even more because there are (fewer) possessions.”

Alford acknowledges his players wouldn’t win many track meets, but the Pirates are successful when they’re pushing the ball up the floor putting pressure on the opposing defense. Alford would like to see a repeat of his team’s performance in the district tournament.

“We got scoring from a lot of places over there,” he said. “We were balanced. We didn’t turn the ball over too much. We made the right decisions through the tournament.”