Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Sophomore Sarah Ashlee Barker is back to the player she was prior to missing her eighth-grade season and should be a key player this season.
Mike Chase likened his team’s run to the Class 7A state championship game last season to a team “catching lightning in a bottle” in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
The Spain Park High School girls basketball team had one of the most exciting runs imaginable through postseason play, a run which led it to a showdown with crosstown rival Hoover in the state title game.
Hoover prevailed in the contest, but Sarah Ashlee Barker’s game tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation sent the game to overtime. That was one of several heroics the Lady Jags displayed along the way.
Whether it was Claire Holt’s buzzer-beating basket plus free throw in the regional semifinal against Gadsden City, Mallory Duke’s clutch 3-pointers in the state semifinal against McGill-Toolen, or Barker’s 3-pointer in the title game, the Lady Jags simply would not relent.
“You watch it every year,” said Chase, the head coach of the Lady Jags. “I think that’s what we did. Gadsden City was the one that set it all in motion.”
The hope is that Spain Park can get back to that stage once again this year, perhaps not requiring the same kind of theatrics. With the departure of only one senior, the Lady Jags bring back virtually all of their production and nearly the same roster.
“It’s similar,” said Chase of how this season’s team feels compared to last year’s. “The one thing that I feel is that every kid that’s coming back has made themselves better. I think it’s because of the success they had off of last year, even though it’s not a complete success.”
A complete success would have been lifting a blue map as state champions, something that has eluded the Spain Park girls basketball program in its history. The Lady Jags got close last year, but Chase does not want his team to perceive it a foregone conclusion that it will be easy to return to that Final Four stage.
“Instead of flying under the radar and coming on at the end, there is going to be a target on you,” Chase said. “You have a target on your back. It’s going to be a lot harder. Every game that you go out and play, last year doesn’t matter when they tip the ball up.”
Holt was the unquestioned leader for the Lady Jags last season, and felt the need to be the team’s leading scorer most nights. But Chase said with the progression of the rest of the team toward the end of last year and over the summer, Holt should be able to focus on other aspects of her game as well.
“Claire knows that there are other kids on this team that can play really well,” Chase said. “I think she’ll actually have a better year, because she’ll be able to be more complete in her play, with assists and defense, because she won’t have to be as focused on her scoring.”
Barker is back to the player she was prior to missing her entire eighth-grade year due to a pair of surgeries. Her level fluctuated last year, as a combination of readjusting to the game of basketball and playing varsity ball for the first time. But the sophomore now possesses an offer from Alabama and is looking for a breakout season.
Post players Barrett Herring and Christen Rushing are back for the Lady Jags as well. Herring has improved greatly in the last few years, and Rushing is what Chase called the Lady Jags’ “secret weapon,” since she was unable to play during last year’s playoff run after suffering a knee injury.
Ahrielle Parks and Bailey Bowers return as juniors with significant backcourt experience.
The Lady Jags open their season Nov. 9, when they host Oakman.
