When St. Aloysius runs onto the court tonight for its first-round game in the Division 7-1A Tournament, it won’t be without a lack of motivation. The Lady Flashes will be playing for their season when they take on the Mississippi School for the Deaf in the first round.

Win, and St. Al will have carved itself a berth in the Class 1A state tournament after an up-and-down year. Lose, and it’s the end of the season.

“That’s what we’re kind of gearing toward is them making the playoffs. I know it has kind of motivated them a little bit,” St. Al coach Delvin Thompson said. “It’s been a rough year as far as the girls. We just couldn’t get on track as a team. I think once we do that, they’ll kind of refocus and kind of go from there.”

MSD (8-7, 3-5 Division 7-1A) is led by Kylisha Cathey, a 5-foot-4 sophomore who can score in transition and dominate the boards. Thompson said keying in on Cathey and beginning the game with confidence will be key for his squad.

“They’re not the same team as the past. They’ve won eight games this year and they’re an organized team. You have to come out and play them,” Thompson said. “They won eight games this year, we won nine games this year, so it’s going to be a dogfight. They’re not going to lie down.”

It’s the inability to put opponents away when St. Al has them on the ropes that Thompson says hurt them the most this season, and it’s something he hopes the Lady Flashes will finally be able to accomplish with their postseason lives on the line.

“Just wanting to win, really. Just wanting it. I’ve been driving them all year with wanting to win. You have to want to win,” he said. “We put everything in place for them, but they’re going to have to want it to win this game.”

The St. Al boys’ team earned a first-round bye — and the Class 1A tournament berth that goes with it — but Thursday’s division tournament opener won’t be lacking in motivation either. Not only will the Flashes be lining up against their fiercest rival in Cathedral, but they’ll also be fighting for home court advantage in the first round of the state tournament.

And for the first time in what seems like all season, the Flashes will be at full strength for the game.

“We’ve only played three games total with our whole team,” Thompson said. “This will be only the third game with everybody. It should be a good game.”

Unlike the girls’ team, Thompson is hoping his full guys squad won’t be a little too pumped up for the opening tip. St. Al and Cathedral have played three times already this season. Cathedral won twice, including a 71-44 rout in Natchez last week. St. Al’s win was an 81-75 overtime thriller in Vicksburg on Jan. 23.

“Everybody is going to be full of emotion for the first three or four minutes of the game, but one of the most important things is going to be sticking to the game plan,” he said. “We put in the game plan and now we’re going to have to execute. We can’t come down and just jack up shots.”

The Flashes don’t lack for confidence — something Thompson said will be advantageous in such a pivotal division matchup with so much on the line.

“Like I tell them, it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. If we come out and score 10 or 12 points straight and go up by 10 or 12, that doesn’t mean we’re going to win the game,” he said. “We have to start off executing. We’ve been doing it all year. If we execute, we’re fine.”

Division 7-1A Tournament

At St. Aloysius

Girls

Tuesday

Piney Woods vs. Cathedral, 4:30 p.m.

St. Aloysius vs. MSD, 7:30 p.m.

Thursday

Bogue Chitto vs. Cathedral-Piney Woods winner, 4 p.m.

Pelahatchie vs. St. Al-MSD winner, 7 p.m.

Friday

Consolation game, 4 p.m.

Championship game, 7 p.m.

Boys

Tuesday

Bogue Chitto vs. MSD, 6 p.m.

Thursday

Pelahatchie vs. Bogue Chitto-MSD winner, 5:30 p.m.

St. Aloysius vs. Cathedral, 8:30 p.m.

Friday

Consolation game, 5:30 p.m.

Championship game, 8:30 p.m.