Poplar Bluff Lady Mules head coach Soley Dugas said something Thursday night after their loss to Notre Dame that showed she’s not looking for a flash in the pan fix for the Lady Mules but something that is sustainable. 

“We have spurts and we need to have quarters,” Dugas said. “We’re building to that.”

Poplar Bluff had a few spurts during the loss to the Lady Bulldogs. In the early going, they forced turnovers on multiple possessions and then senior Abby Wilson knocked down a long 3-pointer to get the crowd into the game. 

Dugas said those moments are key. 

“Those are big,” she said. “When you’re playing a really good team, any opportunity you get to go on a run or do things that are exciting and get people back engaged into the game, is just awesome.”

Poplar Bluff had a pair of close losses to start the year but the last few have gotten away from the Lady Mules. 

Dugas said it’s vital to continue pushing when there’s a wall. 

“We found in those positions often this season where there’s nothing I can really draw up in this moment,” she said. “We just have to find a way. That tells me they’re learning. When we hit those big shots and when we go on those runs, we’re learning because there are games where we played before where we’d just kind of hang out heads and let teams continue to beat us.”

The Lady Mules tip in the Lady Royals Christmas Classic at 11:15 a.m. Saturday against Greenville at Twin Rivers High School. 

“Play hard and capitalize on the things that we do well,” Dugas said was the goal of the LRCC. “Sometimes a lot of our girls struggle with confidence and they try to focus on the things that we don’t do so well. As a coach, I try to be honest with them and tell them these are areas we need to work on but also let’s capitalize on the things we do do well. There are things we do well and those things shine in moments.”