By Rubin E. Grant
One week into the new year, the Homewood girls basketball team already had surpassed the number of wins it had in Gavin King’s first season as the Patriots’ head coach.
King guided the Patriots to a 17-13 record last season, but after three blowout wins last week, Homewood’s record stood at 18-4.
“We are definitely improved,” King said. “We are better as a team, but for the second straight year we’re in a tough area. Last year we had Chelsea, Mountain Brook and Briarwood in our area, and this year we’ve got Parker, Minor and Jackson-Olin. Jackson-Olin is a little down, but Parker and Minor are really good. Parker doesn’t have any seniors and Minor has only one. It’s going to be tough to get past them for the next two years.”
Homewood doesn’t have any seniors on its roster, but the Patriots have plenty of experience.
“Last year, we got a lot of girls playing time,” King said. “All 12 girls on the varsity got varsity minutes, including the girls off the bench and even the freshman who we called up to the varsity at times.”
The Patriots start three juniors, small forward Kayla Warren, point guard Susie Whitsett and 6-foot-3 center Mira McCool. Sophomore guard Laine Litton and 6-1 freshman forward Ellis McCool, Mira McCool’s younger sister, round out the starting lineup.
The Patriots also have plenty of firepower from their reserves, featuring sophomores Annie McBride, Ella Serotsky, Madeline Alford, Savannah McDonald and Hollis Tangye, and freshmen Ryanne Ezekiel and Molly Dorough.
In Homewood’s 64-24 rout of Jackson-Olin last Thursday in the Patriots’ Class 6A, Area 9 opener, Warren had 14 points, six assists and four steals. McBride scored seven points and had three steals, and Dorough grabbed five rebounds to go with six points.
Litton sank five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points, and Ezekiel and Ellis McCool had eight points each in a 58-23 road victory Friday against Columbia in Huntsville. On Saturday at Pinson Valley, Warren had 15 points, five rebounds and five steals and Mira McCool had 14 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to lead the Patriots to a 49-37 victory.
“Everybody plays just about every game,” King said. “We’ve got a lot of speed off the bench and that allows us to change our presses.
“Annie is our leading scorer off the bench and she plays great defense. She can guard any position on the court. Ryanne plays some at point guard and we use her for ball handling. Madeline plays great defense and Molly is a 5-11 player who is really skilled and good around the basket.”
Whitsett, McBride and Tangye all played for Homewood’s Class 6A championship soccer team last spring. Ezekiel was on the junior varsity and Warren will suit up in the spring as the goalkeeper.
“They’re good all-around athletes,” King said. “They’re competitive and they know how to win.”
Homewood continues to play an aggressive, up-tempo style, including a relentless front-court pressing defense and firing up 3-point shots at a rapid pace.
“We want to play at a fast pace,” King said. “We like to get down court and get up a shot and not run a set offense. We’ve got great stuff and the girls know how to run it, but that’s not what we want to do.
“The girls are used to the speed of the game. They worked hard during the summer on their ball-handling, shooting and conditioning. Our shooting percentages are up on 3-pointers and free throws.”
The Patriots are scheduled to play two area games this week, hosting Minor on Tuesday and visiting Parker on Friday.
Homewood didn’t advance past the area tournament last year, but King hopes that will change this season.
“Our goal is to get one step farther this year,” he said.
