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Jy’Kierra Oliver knows that the focus for her and the Selma Lady Saints has been defense this season.

That effort on the defensive end of the floor has led to a top 10 ranking for the Selma girls basketball team.

One of the highlights for Oliver this season has been seeing the team come together and being pushed by coach James Bolden.

“The team has really come together,” Oliver said. “(Bolden) means a lot. Like we haven’t have a coach that actually like push us to the limit and make us have this mindset that we have now that we gonna win the state championship.”

Bolden said Oliver was the only senior on the team. Naturally, Oliver had to step into the role as being a team leader.

“In order to go to different and higher places, you have to step into those leadership roles and be disciplined. You’ve gotta lead by example,” Boldens said. “We pretty much go as she goes. She’s the leader of the team. That was the assignment I gave her from the jump, and she’s accepted it and ran with it.”

Basketball wasn’t Oliver’s first sport. She grew up playing softball, but as she got older, she had seen her cousin playing basketball really started to love the game.

“I was surrounded with folks that played basketball,” Oliver said. “So I started to love basketball and feeling good about playing basketball.”

The Lady Saints have completed area play with an undefeated record. They have an overall record of 17-3 and with the boys’ team earned a right to host the area tournament. The girls begin on Monday at 6:15 p.m. The championship game will be Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Bolden said he’s been excited with the way the team has bought into this season.

“They just bought into everything. I mean, since day one, I told them it’s state championship or bust,” Bolden said. “So just looking at what they did last year and then trying to pick up from there is pretty much where we started from this year.”

Oliver said the team still has work to do. She hopes the team can continue to focus and get closer as a team.

“The team chemistry, we’re still working on it, but it’s getting there,” Oliver said. “We just have to continue to work hard, getting better and staying humble.”