Being a four-time defending regional champion is quite an accomplishment for any team – that is, unless the talent is there to be so much more.

The R.C. Hatch High School Lady Bobcats have won their region four years in a row, a very prestigious accomplishment. This season, however, the Lady Bobcats want to eclipse that and move on to the next level.

“Our goal this year,” R.C. Hatch coach Walter Abraham said, “is to win every game and get back to the state tournament.”

Lofty goals indeed for most, but not for the Lady Bobcats. Already 10-0 and the state’s top-ranked team in the girls’ Class 2A poll, R.C. Hatch has proven this season that it can play on the same level with the state’s best teams.

“I told the girls that it’s nice to be recognized as the number one team in the state,” Abraham said. “But we still have to work hard and stay focused. We still have to do the job on the court.”

That hasn’t been a problem for the Lady Bobcats. The team is coming off an 81-28 shellacking of J.F. Shields on Saturday night. The individual numbers were very respectable for the Lady Bobcats – senior shooting guard Sierra Miller led with 23 points, followed by junior power forward Ahjah Mitchell and point guard Vinecia Dudley with 16 and 10 points, respectively.

The Lady Bobcats have yet to be truly tested this season. They have manhandled their opponents thus far, beating one team by more than 70 points. That claim is especially incredible considering that Abraham missed six weeks in October through mid-November after having surgery.

“I haven’t really had a good chance to practice the girls hard yet,” Abraham said. “I came back a little fast, but I wanted to be back with my team.”

What makes this team special is not just the talent it possesses, but the dedication the Lady Bobcats have shown in righting the ship after the disappointments from recent seasons.

R.C. Hatch has lost in the first round of the state tournament the past two years, a fact that doesn’t sit well with Abraham.

“These girls want to win. They’re used to winning,” he said. “We lost a few seniors from this team, but the talent has always been there. We didn’t get a chance to scout our opponents in the state tournament last year, and that really cost us. Those teams had some pretty big girls and we weren’t prepared for that.”

The Lady Bobcats, however, appear ready to match their 1999-2000 season in which they went 30-0 and won the state championship.

Along with Miller, Mitchell and Dudley, the R.C. Hatch starting lineup includes a talented core of young players that includes sophomore forward/center Janita Essex and senior guard/shooting forward Jamarice Cheese. In fact, Cheese and Miller are the only two seniors on a team that also includes a seventh grader, and eighth grader and three freshmen.

The rest of the Lady Bobcats include junior backup point guard Sheleta Banks, freshman forward Andericus Johnson, sophomore shooting guard Jasmine Ross, seventh-grade power forward Khadijah Fikes, sophomore shooting forward/shooting guard Shamonica Tabbs, eighth-grade shooting forward Talira Tabbs, freshman shooting guard Ashley Walker, sophomore power forward Lakisha Johnson and freshman power forward Vakecia Wesley.

“What’s so good about our starting five,” Abraham said, “is that any one of them could go out and score 20 points on any given night.

“Mitchell is the backbone of this team,” Abraham added. “She shoots, she rebounds…she does everything. She’s a real horse on the offensive and defensive boards.”

As the season continues, so should the Lady Bobcats’ winning streak. Abraham predicted that his team could duplicate the feat set by the 1999-2000 squad.

“If we continue to play well, I don’t see a team that can beat us,” he said. “If we minimize our turnovers and stay focused, we have a chance of making it to the state tournament this year.”