Following a historic run in the state playofffs in 2024, which resulted in the program’s first state championship game appearance, the girls basketball team has started the season ranked 3rd in class 4A looking to build another successful campaign.
Last year the team featured a relatively young roster, with former players Briaiah Lewis and Kyla Stewart as its only seniors. This year the team features mostly returning players. Senior guard Cate Barton believes the returners have helped the team maintain a strong chemistry.
“We have incredible team chemistry, and I think that is what makes us such a formidable team,” Barton said. “Our mentality is that we don’t want one person on the floor weighing us down; we want everyone putting their best foot forward. I think this mentality leads to a common goal of performing well in state, and it just helps us stay disciplined.”
Despite region losses to Creekside and Maynard, Maxpreps now has the girls ranked 48th in the state after a 10-2 start. Head coach Martravious Little said the team understands the weight of its expectations but believes its goals are still the same.
“Our expectations have not changed at all,” Little said. “Since the day we lost in the championship, throughout off-season conditioning, the only thing we’ve kept saying is no excuses, and that’s our motto for this year. We expect to walk off the Macon Colosseum with the championship this year, and we have no excuses to not hold ourselves to that standard.”
Junior guard Devin Bockman agrees that outside expectations for the season are different; she said the team has been preparing harder than ever.
“We’re trying to maintain our flow from last year to ensure we can get back to that same level of success,” Bockman said. “We’ve been doing a lot of work in the weight room this year. Since we’re a smaller team, being able to play with more physical teams is very important to us. We’ve also been doing a lot of cardio-based stuff to ensure we can take over late into the game.”
The Knights committed costly turnovers in the state championship game last year, ultimately contributing to their loss to Maynard. Little said throughout the start of this season, turnovers have continued to emerge as the team’s biggest area of improvement and focus point as the season goes on.
“From an improvement standpoint, one thing I want to see improvement in is our turnovers; we keep turning the ball over way too much, especially from a veteran team,” Little said. “That [improvement] will come with time. We’re working hard every day in practice, so as we get deeper into the season, I hope to see less of that the more we work out in practice.”
With GHSA reclassification, the Knights moved from 5A to 4A with new region opponents such as Pace Academy, and old ones like Maynard Jackson. Bockman said the new region brings new challenges, testing the team’s status as one of the best in the state.
“The new classification is difficult, but I think one of our biggest strengths is our connection as a team; so, no matter the opponent, we always feel we can win,” Bockman said. “We’ve gotten better every year that I’ve been here, so our goals, regardless of our classification, haven’t changed: win region and ultimately, state.”
Barton said although the team has many returning players, the loss of leadership positions allows for younger players to step up into new roles as the season progresses.
“Losing Briaiah and Kyla was tough because they were both really big contributors for us as both players and leaders,” Barton said. “I think we’ve mostly adjusted; it’s just a matter of working out some new positions and roles within the team. It might be a struggle, especially in the beginning, but I know that our players will step up to the challenge.”
