Following article & picture courtesy of The Clarion Ledger

Top-ranked New Albany eyes perfection

Junior-laden Lady Bulldogs pursuing undefeated season, Class 4A state championship

Rod Walker
rwalker@clarionledger.com

Every now and then, New Albany coach John Stroud will give his girls basketball team a history lesson.

He’ll tell them about that New Albany boys team that went undefeated during the 1984-85 season. They were the last MHSAA boys team to run the table.

Twenty-five years later, the Lady Bulldogs (25-0), ranked No. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10, are trying to pull off a perfect season as well.

“It’s really hard to do and we know that,” said Stroud, a former All-American at Ole Miss, where he still holds the all-time scoring record he set from 1976-80. “We’re just trying to put that 25-0 behind us because everybody’s 0-0 now. It’s an eight-game season now. Two in the division. Four in North Half and two in the state. Like the cliche goes, we’re just trying to take it one at a time.”

New Albany’s next hurdle comes tonight at 7 when it faces Itawamba AHS in the Division 1-4A Tournament at Itawamba Community College.

“People just remember how you did in the playoffs,” said Stroud. “What we’ve done is a big achievement, but it will go away quickly if we lose in the division tournament or North Half. We know the monkey’s on our back and everybody’s trying to give us the first loss.”

The Lady Bulldogs are seeking to become just the third MHSAA school (girls or boys) to go undefeated over the last 10 years. The Indianola Gentry Lady Rams put together back-to-back perfect seasons in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

But Stroud knows it won’t be easy.

In fact, he made sure it wouldn’t be.

“Last year we had a relatively easy schedule and won 27 games,” said Stroud, whose team lost just one senior off last year’s squad that reached the 4A State Tournament. “I tried to make the schedule pretty hard this year, but our girls have just found a way every game to win.”

But in order for the Lady Bulldogs to hoist the gold ball in three weeks, they’ll have to go through a rugged Class 4A field that includes four of the top five teams in the Super 10 (No. 2 Raymond, No. 4 Pass Christian and No. 5 Lafayette County).

New Albany has already posted a 66-46 victory over Lafayette County, the Lady Commodores’ lone loss of the season.

“We have sold them on half-court defense and that has been our calling card all year,” said Stroud, who coached the New Albany boys to a 3A title in 1987 and then coached at Millsaps before returning to coach the New Albany girls six years ago. “We guard people well and the girls just have had good team chemistry.”

One coach in north Mississippi thinks New Albany has a good shot at running the table.

“They have such good guard play and good post play and that says it all,” said Tupelo coach Stephanie Murphy, whose team lost 54-49 to New Albany in the regular-season finale. “It will be hard to run the table, but if they play up to their potential, they can.”

The Lady Bulldogs are led by forward Jazmine Spears, a 5-foot-11 freshman who is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds.

“Jazmine is the type that doesn’t really awe you the way she plays, but she’s just a grinder out there,” said Stroud. “She just knows the game for a 15-year-old ninth-grader. She’s brought the team together and is the difference-maker.”

She is joined in the starting lineup by four juniors: forward Micha Washington (6-foot-1, 13 points per game) and guards Kebrina Lucas (12 points), Nyambi Penson and Porche White. Caroline Stroud, the coach’s daughter, comes off the bench.

“I think what makes us good is we all bring something different to the team and we’ve played together basically our whole lives,” said White, who says she and her teammates feel no pressure to go undefeated. “I would love to go undefeated, but if it took a loss to win the State Tournament, I’d take it.”

Stroud, agrees.

“Our goal is to win state, not to go undefeated,” said Stroud. “It’s going to be hard to do, and we know that.”