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From the Sports Desk - 03/30/06
Smoky Mountain’s women’s basketball team gave their fans an unforgettable ride in the recently completed season.
The Lady Mustangs went 28-1 for the best record in school history. They won Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and the sectional championship. The lone loss came in the finals of the Western Regionals meaning SM was one of the state’s final four 2-A teams.
“It was a tremendous year,” Coach Cindi Simmons said. “The attitude of the players and their make up was special. They were eager every day to come in and get to work. This was a team with a tremendous chemistry and a competitive spirit. They were fun to be around.”
She added, “Success didn’t spoil them. They continued to the last minute to try to be the best they could be and improve. They could accomplish a goal then immediately set another goal for themselves They didn’t sit back and rest on what they had accomplished.”
The previous year’s team reached the sectional finals, and Simmons said one of the goals was to improve on that finish.
“This team really focused on defense and took a lot of pride in defense,” she said. “We wanted to be the best defensive team we could be. We wanted to do the little things and do them well. We had goals in each game that we tried to accomplish.”
Expectations were high this year so Simmons had to approach things a little differently than she does most seasons.
“We focused on doing the little things,” she said. “We didn’t look too far ahead. We knew to get to that ultimate goal was a process. We tried to take it step by step.”
Much of the preparation was in the offseason.
“That’s when we worked on everybody becoming better basketball players and better athletes,” the coach said. “Then we put it all together when we brought the team together. We worked a lot on individual skills in the offseason.”
Perhaps the best game of the year was against East Rutherford, the defending regional champion, in the sectional finals.
“We really stepped up and played to our potential,” Simmons said. “The magnitude of that game made it even more special. That we stepped up and performed at that level of competition speaks volumes for our kids.”
Seniors included Ashley Coggins, Sky Kanott and Tina McDonald.
“All three of these young ladies have been a big part of our women’s basketball program that brought spirit and cohesiveness to our team,” Simmons said.
“Ashley really worked on her game,” the coach said. “She worked hard in the offseason to improve all areas of her game. She took advantage of every opportunity to be the best she could be.”
Coggins earned all-conference honors.
“Sky could come off the bench and give us a lift with her three-pointing shooting,” Simmons said.
“Tina’s health problems limited her playing time,” the coach said. “She rebounded from an injury to always give it all she had. She had a real love for the game.”
The team was dominated by juniors. They were Cetera DeGraffenreid, Amy Haggard, Kelli Woodard, Laury Brown, Brandi Anders, Jenna Carpenter and Jordan Mason.
“It’s hard to put into words what Cetera has done during her three years,” Simmons said. “She’s very unselfish and always putting the team first and not individual goals. She led us in every category. Its not just what she creates for herself but also what she creates for other people. She continues to rewrite the record book. She is so dedicated to our team. She’s very deserving of every honor and accolade she receives.”
Among those honors are conference player of the year, conference tournament most valuable player, all-regional and the ultimate, Associated Press All-State.
She broke her own school record with 918 points this season and has 2,358 for her career.
“Amy really stepped up this year,” the coach said. “She’s very versatile. She would always draw one of the toughest defensive assignments. She’s a great competitor.”
Among the outstanding games Simmons said Haggard played were against East Rutherford in the sectional finals and West Henderson in the championship game of the conference tournament. She was named all-conference and all-tournament.
“Kelli played inside a lot of times against bigger players,” Simmons said. “She improved tremendously over the course of the season. She’s a strong rebounder and solid on defense.”
Woodard was also selected for the all-conference and all-tournament squads.
“Laury came in and always provided us with whatever the team needed,” the coach said. “She played with such intensity. She was a strong defensive player and with her hustle she was all over the court. She’s very unselfish. She’s one of those kids who would leave it all on the court every time out.”
“Brandi improved over the course of the year,” Simmons said. “She’s a great shooter and has the ability to step out and shoot the three and draw the opponents’ post player out.”
“Jenna was a real good three-point shooter,” the coach said. “She’s versatile in that she can play the four with good inside moves.”
“Jordan really improved during the year,” Simmons said. “She maintained a great work ethic. She really made great strides around the basket.”
Freshmen were Ashley Robinson and Tasha Junaluska.
“Ashley stepped into a starting role at center as a freshman,” the coach said. “Her ability to run the floor caused problems for our opponents. She came up big in some key games, especially Pisgah and West Henderson at home. She stepped up against East Davidson in the regionals. She has the ability to contribute in all areas, including scoring, rebounding and passing.”
Junaluska had some of her biggest moments in the post season. She hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win the East Davidson game in the regionals and nailed four treys in the sectional finals against East Rutherford.
“What Tasha did in the East Davidson game will be something she’ll remember for the rest of her life and everyone who witnessed it will also remember,” Simmons said. “She’s such a spark. She’s a great shooter, but that’s not all she does. She really gets after loose balls and is a hustler. She causes problems for the other team. They have to guard her and that spread the defense out and created opportunities for her teammates.”
With four starters returning, expectations will be sky high next year. Of course, there are no guarantees that this past season’s success can be repeated or exceeded. Simmons and the players know there is much hard work ahead.
“This has just served to make them hungry and motivate our players to work hard this summer and identify areas we can improve on,” she said. “We know the way after this past season. We know what it takes to get there. We’re going to continue to work hard and realize that nothing’s a given. Next year is a new season.”
The players have gotten used to playing in front of large crowds at home. That was also true in the playoffs at the sectional and regional finals.
“Our community has really gotten behind our team and was our sixth man at home and throughout the playoffs,” Simmons said. “Noboby does it better than Jackson County in supporting these players. It motivated and inspired them to go out and play hard. The players talked about what it meant to them. It was very special. Every community doesn’t have that. It’s a credit to our community, and it’s a credit to our players. That’s what it’s all about.”
Everybody will be gunning for the Lady Mustangs next year and bring their best game when playing SM. Simmons echoed DeGraffenreid’s words moments after the season ended when she pointed out that the work for next year begins now.
Simmons noted the conference had several good young players and should be more competitive next year.
The JV team finished first in the regular season and also won the conference tournament.
“I’m very proud of those young ladies,” the coach said. “They made great strides this season. It makes the year very special for both teams in our program to have experienced the success we did. We’re very excited about the future.”
Simmons expressed appreciation to assistant coaches Eric Toedtman, Kim Hardy and Shaketia Barnes, JV coaches Ollin Dunford and Leah Setzer, the administration, the media, the cheerleaders and Coach Kim Buchanan, and public address announcer David Proffitt for their support.
“There will be a lot of opportunities for everyone to prepare for next year,” she said. “We’ll have some on-site clinics, skill development sessions and open gyms this spring and summer.”
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