The Demopolis Lady Tigers didn’t quite get off to the start in area play they’d hoped for. But head coach Tony Pittman says the team’s loss to Thomasville last Friday night might still be a blessing in disguise.

“I wasn’t happy. We were beaten in every phase of the game,” Pittman said Tuesday. “But you know, you’ll have games like that. Maybe this will wake us up, remind us of how hard we need to work.”

Pittman says the results were evident in the Lady Tigers’ practice sessions in the wake of the Thomasville loss.

“Practice the last two days have been tremendous,” he says. “This is going to fall on the shoulders of our seniors.”

Improvement at practice will be very good news to Lady Tiger supporters in the wake of Friday’s 48-42 defeat. Demopolis shot only 32 percent from the field, going 11-34 overall and 1 of 7 from three-point land, and shot only 17 of 30 (57 percent) from the free throw line.

“We didn’t execute offensively and we didn’t play well defensively,” Pittman said, summarizing his team’s problems in the Lady Tigers’ first road game of the season.

Shawnese Armstead led Demopolis with 12 points in the losing effort. Katerria Johnson added 11, Jasmine Hardy 7, Krystal Walker 5, Jasmine Simmons 5, and Valissa Sams 2.

The Lady Tigers will look to rebound on the road Tuesday night against Francis Marion, who Demopolis defeated in their first game of the season. Full coverage will be available in the Thursday edition of the Times.