The Long County Lady Blue Tide basketball team is entering its second season under head coach Jimmy Hires and they look to get back to the playoffs in the 2024-25 season.

Hires has spent majority of his career as an assistant varsity and head JV coach but the last two years as head coach of the Lady Tide have taught him a lot, as well as showing growing pains for both him and his team.

Hires said the team will have to contend with graduating three starters, including one of the leading scorers and the leading rebounder from last year’s team.

The team lost leading rebounder Ciazia Powe and three-year point guard Imani Pouncey, both of whom moved on to play at the collegiate level. Powe now plays soccer at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort and Pouncey plays basketball at Bob Jones University.

Losing three starters from last season has caused the team to learn how to play more as a unit, Hires said.

“We are learning how to be cohesive and play together as a team. We have different clientele to work with this year and have to make adjustments based upon this team’s strengths.” Hires said. “We have some returning players who work hard and understand their expectations on and off the court allowing for some type of foundation.”

Another challenge the Lady Tide have to deal with is the absence of several of their players due to them being multi-sport athletes. Currently, six would-be players and four potential starters are playing flag football.

That regular season does not end until November 21 with the playoffs running through December 18. “Many of the athletes are not able to start the season with us,” Hires said. “It is often difficult to have practices and players learning how to play with one another due to their demanding schedules. Players can often be discouraged and frustrated by the change in the amount of playing time based on the skill improvement of their teammates.”

The thing Hires wants to focus on this season has been something that dates back to the three years with Dwayne Reviere as head coach: defense.

“We will have to play solid defense, limit our mistakes, and play cohesively as a team,” he said.

Hires believes that as long as the Lady Tide can focus on fundamentals and “building strong team chemistry” the team will be just fine and be able to compete in the region.

He said that teams to watch out for will be Calvary Day, who returning all-state guard Destiny Gooddine, and Liberty County, a surprise region runner-up from last year who return most of their backcourt.

The Lady Tide tip off the regular season opening with a road game against Wayne County on Friday, November 15.