CLEMSON -- If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

With the Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Lady Trojans being one win away from the state championship, they've decided to take the same approach to this game that they've taken all year.

"We practice the same," H-K-T girls' head coach Jarvis Davis said. "We go through the same thing. We just talk about taking one game at a time. We never look past the games we have to play because that's what keeping us focused."

Focus will be key for H-K-T (21-5) in today's 11 a.m. game against Christ Church at Littlejohn Coliseum. That's just part of the reason why the Lady Trojans arrived in Clemson yesterday.

"I want everybody to be relaxed," he said. "We're going to try to make sure the girls aren't nervous."

Being in an Upper State championship game may be nothing new to some of the Lady Trojans, but there are a few players on the roster who are experiencing this scenario for the first time. For those first-timers, Davis has told them to "enjoy the moment."

"I tell them everybody who plays sports doesn't get this opportunity," he said. "Through all the games we've played -- the close games, the big games -- I tell them to just play. Don't think about what's on the line. Just go and have fun."

H-K-T climbed out of a 20-point hole against Great Falls to earn a spot in today's Upper State Final. Although Davis believes there's no reason to panic about his team's defense, he feels his team learned a valuable lesson.

"They learned never to give up no matter what was going wrong," Davis said. "I told them before the playoffs that games were going to get harder and teams were going to get tougher. At halftime (of the Upper State semifinals), I told them this game was not over. I told them that we have to take it one game at a time, one possession at a time and we did that."

T&D Sports Writer Emery Glover can be reached by e-mail at eglover@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Check out his blog, Cover 2, at www.thetandd.com.

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