This past spring, Meridian High School girls basketball coach Deneshia Faulkner was having her post-season meeting with rising senior guard Arianna Patton.

The Lady Wildcats were coming off a 63-51 loss to Clinton in the MHSAA Class 6A state semifinal round, and Patton blamed herself for the loss. While Faulkner understood that everyone shared responsibility, coaches and players, she resisted her initial reaction to try and reassure Patton it wasn’t her fault.

“At the beginning of the conversation, I said that I would agree with her if she could handle it,” Faulkner said. “I told her she had to take that hurt and use it for the good.”

It sparked a fire in Patton, who took after the example of Michael Jordan in letting failure motivate her to come back stronger the next season. Faulkner told Patton about how Jordan would often take responsibility for losing because it was a burden he was capable of carrying, and Patton said after watching a few episodes of this summer’s documentary “The Last Dance,” Jordan’s leadership and ability to push his teammates to make them better was something that stood out to her.

So Patton dedicated herself, and this season, her production has improved considerably — and she was already a good player and a hard worker before, Faulkner said.

“To sit back and watch her take that type of advice, which a lot of people would find cruel, in such a mature way… I’ve seen her grow every day, whether it’s at practice or during individual sessions or open gym,” Faulkner said. “I can see that she’s owning that loss. I see it in her work ethic. She works harder now, even though she was already working hard back then.”

Patton said she felt her individual performance in that semifinal game was lacking at first, and by the time she got the right mentality, Clinton was already too far ahead.

“I made a few mistakes toward the end, like when I took a shot and air-balled it,” Patton recalled. “I think one of our better shooters was open and I didn’t see them. I wasn’t mentally focused for the game. I was completely out of it, and I made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t step up in a way that I was supposed to. Even though we had five seniors and I was a junior, I was supposed to step up in a major way. I stepped up in the end, but it was too late, and I blame myself for it.”

Almost a year later, and the disappointment and frustration is still fresh on Patton’s mind.

“I think about it every day,” Patton said. “Every time I think about basketball I think about that game. I keep reminding myself to let it motivate me to keep going this year, keep pushing.”

It highlighted to Patton how not being mentally ready in just one game could prove costly, and she’s done everything she can to make sure that won’t happen her senior year.

“I make sure I come into practice every day focused, and every game I mentally and physically prepare myself in the right way so I don’t make that mistake again,” Patton said.

Faulkner said Patton’s approach has elevated her game even more, and she was already good enough to start when she was a sophomore. 

“This year I think she’s really peaking,” Faulkner said. “I’m proud of her because these four years I’ve seen so much. I’ve seen her miss a lot of shots or put a lot of losses on her shoulders.”

Patton can tell she’s gotten better after using the loss in that semifinal game as motivation.

“I can finish more and can actually shoot the ball at a high percentage now,” Patton said. “I’m more aggressive, and I don’t let my misses dictate what I do next.”

A Jones College signee, Patton said nothing would make her happier than to finally win a state championship her senior year. As a reserve her freshman year, Patton was on a team that finished 13-14 during 2017-18 season, and she’s been a part of the Lady Wildcats’ improvement over the next three years to become a state championship contender.

“Each year we’ve gotten closer to the championship game, and this year I think we need to come harder and go all the way,” Patton said. “It takes failures on the way to achieve your goal, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Said Faulkner, “She’s seen the program at all levels, from the bottom to where it is now. She’s been through the process and has started to reap the benefits from it.”

She’s also the only player on this year’s squad who was on the team during Faulkner’s first season as the Lady Wildcats’ coach in 2017-18, which has helped create a special bond between the two.

“We have an awesome relationship,” Patton said. “She’s just like my mother. Words can’t describe our bond. Whether it’s on or off the court, she’s just an awesome coach, and I actually told her I’m happy she picked Meridian because she’s really turned the program around.”

That bond allows Faulkner to be blunt with Patton like she was after the game with Clinton — an approach she doesn’t usually take with her players.

“I think it’s making her a better player, mentally and physically,” Faulkner said. “It’s one of those things I’ll never forget. That’s a conversation you can’t have with just any player because you don’t want them to lose confidence. You can be raw with Arianna. I’m not saying (that game) was her fault — from the coaches to players, we all had some fault in that — but if she wants to take that responsibility I don’t see anything wrong with that.”