By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE – Shades Valley Girls Basketball head coach Gary Ferguson knew the start of the season was going to be a difficult one for his Lady Mounties.
“Most of our opponents were in the championship game, Final Four, or Elite 8 last year,” he said.
“We lost several close games, and we hoped that our tough schedule would have us prepared for our area games.”
Not only did Valley have to face a brutal schedule, they had to do so with early season injuries with an already thin roster.
The Lady Mounties lost nine of their first twelve games.
Ferguson’s plan worked to perfection. His girls went undefeated in area play, won ten of their last eleven games, and find themselves in the 6A Elite 8.
The Lady Mounties defeated Parker 62-45 and Oxford 71-52 on their way to the Elite 8.
The win over Oxford Friday came on the tenth anniversary of Shades Valley’s 2014 state championship.
While the win came on a historic Shades Valley date, Ferguson wants this team to leave their own legacy.
“That was a big win for our seniors and our program,” he said.
“They have had to see our vision at the forefront of their minds and we have been preaching belief this entire season.”
“We’ve also reminded them of the ones who came before them, and we’ve stressed to them that they must leave their own legacy,” Ferguson said.
Angela Williams is certainly leaving her own legacy.
The senior has scored 32 points in each of Valley’s post-season wins.
The James Madison commit, recently named All-State by the AHSAA, is playing her best basketball of the year.
The Lady Mounties are getting good production from all five starters and quality minutes and points from their bench.
In the win over Oxford, starters Zoey Little and Lauren Nelson chipped in thirteen and ten points, respectively.
Lillie Smith came off the bench to hit two big three-pointers.
The Lady Mounties face Huffman in the regional finals at 9:00 AM Tuesday at Jacksonville State.