Lady Vols Basketball Preseason Preview

Photos by Mike Brown Sports Photography

Lady Vols Have New Look

Forgive Kate Couvillion and Betsey Gray Barrett if they look around and do a bit of a double take when Starkville Academy tips off the season Monday evening against Calhoun Academy in the Columbus Christian preseason tournament.

For the first time in quite some time, the Lady Vols’ backcourt duo will take the court without a few of their basketball partners in crime. Seven of the 11 players on last year’s team are now gone. Only four return.

“It’s going to be different for sure,” Couvillion said. “I’ve been playing with most of those other girls for a long time, and I’ve been friends with them even longer.”

Couvillion, a junior guard, is the lone returning starter from last year’s team, which finished 16-10 overall and 6-4 in district play. Barrett, a senior point guard, was also a starter before suffering a season-ending ACL injury in December. Reserves Aliya Castro and Breclynn Hancock also return. That’s it. Leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Raylee Jones, a 6-0 post, transferred to Booneville High. Fellow post Calliope Koiva along with guards Sara Stokes McReynolds and Kat McCaskill graduated.

McReynolds, a 1,000-point career scorer, is now living the sorority life at Auburn. McCaskill, last year’s valedictorian, is hitting the books at Mississippi State. And Koiva, a softball All-Star, is in Scooba at East Mississippi Community College. So, there will be new names and new faces in jersey Nos. 2, 20, 21 and 33 among others.

For those keeping score at home, that’s four of the five returning players who started the last half of the season. Those four accounted for nearly 90 percent of SA’s scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals last season. Reserve Ali Grace Williams also graduated. Reserves Mary Cameron Martin and Catherine Scoggins, who both figured to play prominent roles this season, also opted not to play. In addition, Cathryn Leslie, the leading scorer on last year’s junior high team who was the presumptive starter in the post on this year’s varsity team as a sophomore, elected to transfer to Starkville High.

Furthermore, head coach Robin Chastain departed to take a similar position at Magnolia Heights Academy in Senatobia. In her absence, SA Head of School Jeremy Nicholas looked in-house and turned to boys’ coach Mark Alexander, who will lead both programs this year. Alexander, who has nearly 20 years of coaching experience, returned to SA a year ago for a second stint. He led the Vols to a 17-9 overall record, 5-5 in district play, in his first season back in Starkville.

Alexander, who has previously coached girls’ basketball at Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga, MRA, Hartfield and Heritage, will be SA’s third head coach in as many seasons. The Lady Vols have now had four different head coaches in the last five years, and seven in the last 10.

“I’m very thankful for the opportunity to coach this group of girls,” Alexander said. “I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Practice has gone well. I feel like the transition has been pretty smooth so far, or at least as smooth as one could expect considering the circumstances. The girls have been working hard and doing their best to learn a new system and all that goes along with that. I’m sure the expectations aren’t all that high for this team considering the amount of talent and experience we lost. I’m hopeful that we can surprise some people. We’ll see. My goal is for the team to improve as we go, reach our full potential by season’s end, have fun, create some memories and hopefully win a few games along the way.”

No doubt, Couvillion will play a large role in whatever success SA may have this season. The combo guard averaged a team-high 12 points last season as a sophomore to go along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals per game. She was asked to carry even more of the load during one lengthy stretch when McReynolds was out and/or slowed with a high ankle sprain along with Barrett being sidelined.

“I’ve had to coach against her in the past, and I watched her play last season so I knew she was a really good player – one of the best in our league,” Alexander said. “She has a high basketball IQ, she shoots the 3 well, and she’s really good at getting to the basket. She’s also a good passer. She’s kind of blended in the past couple of years with her being younger and surrounded by older players. We’re going to ask her to be more aggressive and score a little more this year, something she’s certainly capable of doing. We’re going to need her to be that player this year.”

Couvillion welcomes the return of Barrett, who is working her way back from the ACL injury. Her playing time will likely be limited early in the season, but should increase as she gains more strength, stamina and confidence. A very heady player, Barrett, like Couvillion, is capable of playing all three guard spots. Although she’s at her best when she’s running the show at the point and dishing out assists, Barrett is also a good perimeter shooter.

“Those two complement each other so well,” Alexander said. “It has been fun watching them in the preseason. I like her game a lot. We just have to be a little cautious with her knee while she works her way back into playing shape. She’s come a long way in the past few weeks, so we’re very thankful for that. That’s been a big plus. If anybody deserves a good senior year it’s Betsey Gray after what happened last year.”

Joining Couvillion and Barrett in the backcourt will be sophomore Elizabeth Fair, who started a year ago at point guard on the JV team. Better known for her soccer exploits, Fair is the quickest and fastest player on the team.

“She’s also our best perimeter defender,” Alexander said. “She’s so quick and low to the ground and that gives her the ability to give opposing point guards fits. On the offensive end, she typically doesn’t look to shoot all that much from the perimeter, but she’s really good at pushing the ball up the floor and/or driving and kicking it out to open shooters. I feel pretty good about having those three at the guard spots. They all can handle the ball.”

Sophomores Addie Smith, Kaylie Smith, Kenna Rowlen, freshman Collier Martin and Hancock will provide depth in the backcourt.

While SA’s roster only includes one true post player in 8th-grader Charlie Rae Fulgham, she and others are going to be called upon to play at the forward positions. Although the Lady Vols will likely have five guards on the floor the majority of the time, Alexander also wants to have the flexibility of having a “4” and “5” in what shapes up as a more traditional look in certain sets. Seniors Mary Holland Nicholas and Reese McAfee, junior Aliya Castro, and freshman Shayne Selmon are going to be called upon to fill those spots.

Nicholas and McAfee didn’t play last season. Castro played sparingly off the bench.

“We don’t have any size at all, which is a big change from last year’s team,” Alexander said. “We’re going to have to do a good job of playing team defense, gang rebounding, and really helping in the post as best as possible. We’ll mix things up some, too, and give people some different looks. We’re going to have to. Offensively, we won’t have much of a post presence, but at the same time I think we can spread people out with our guards and play to our strengths.

“I’m not sure how thrilled Mary Holland, Reese and Aliya are about playing in the ‘post,’” Alexander continued. “But as I explained to them, we all know you’re not really forwards, but I need them to fill that role for us. I also sold them on the concept of more playing time so when they heard that they bought in a little more. Besides Mary Holland and Aliya will both play on the perimeter some also. Both can shoot it, both are capable of getting hot from outside. Mary Holland knows the game well. She’ll figure it out. Same for Aliya. And Reese has been a welcome addition. She’s very coachable, and she really hustles and gets after it. I haven’t truly decided who’s going to start yet, but all three of those girls should see their fair share of playing time.”

The schedule is a tough one, especially for a team returning only one starter. This time a year ago, SA was a team returning all five starters. East Rankin, a couple of years removed from winning Overall, is now a district foe. Same for Hartfield Academy. The Lady Vols are also slated to play tradition-rich Leake Academy, traditional heavyweights Jackson Academy, Pillow Academy and Simpson Academy along with MHSAA matchups against Jumpertown and Choctaw County among others.

“I’m looking forward to this season,” Barrett said. “The girls have been working hard in practice. We lost a lot of key players from last year’s team, so we are going to have to rely on speed and outside shots. Staying in shape and working together will also be keys to our success this season.”

Said Couvillion: “We don’t have much height, so we will have to rely on our speed and knowledge of the game. We lost a lot from last year, but we’re still hoping to have a good outcome.”