One year after the best season in school history, the Arts & Sciences’ girls basketball team could very well be on the brink of an even better one.
Much of the credit goes to a skilled and athletic group of Lady Patriots guards that few Class A teams are able to match.
“They’re highly talented,” CSAS coach Clay Martin said. “They’re deep, they’re experienced, they can create shots, they really understand the game, and they’re just playing very well right now.”
Arts & Sciences’ starting lineup includes junior guards Alexis Anderson, Chariah Gordon and Kayla Kelly and sophomore Robyn Anthony. With help off the bench from seniors Rashell Buchanan and Terilyn Rodriguez, the Lady Patriots have climbed to 23 wins and a No. 6 state ranking.
Their two losses came against fourth-ranked Class AA team McMinn Central (26-0) and Northwest Whitfield, which is ranked fourth in Georgia Class AAAA with a 24-2 record.
“I think it creates a lot of matchup problems,” Martin said of his starting lineup, which also includes senior post Jamisha Featherstone. “Lately we’ve been having four or five girls with about 12 to 13 points each game and about two to three others with seven, eight or nine. If we can see that every night, we’re going to continue winning.”
Kelly, Anthony and point guard Anderson were starters last year as the Lady Patriots won their first Region 3-A title and hosted their first state sectional game. With the addition of transfer Gordon, expectations for this season soared even higher, but it took some time for the new lineup to jell.
“We had the same team basically, but Chariah was new this year, and she had to get used to how we play and we all had to get used to her,” said Anderson, who averages four assists and 6.9 points per game. “In the beginning it was hard, but we’ve gotten better at working together. Now it kind of comes naturally, but it didn’t at first.”
All four players are good shooters, defenders and ball-handlers, and as the Lady Patriots prepare to begin the District 6-A tournament Saturday, their individual strengths — Anthony’s speed, Gordon’s range, Anderson’s defense, Kelly’s length — have blended into a cohesive unit.
“I think we’re starting to unite as a team more,” Gordon said. “We know each others’ strengths and weaknesses and what we can and can’t do.”
Gordon averages 8.5 points, while Kelly leads with 10.4 points and eight rebounds per game. All four players are equally as likely to take an open shot as they are to pass to a teammate, and each one is capable of leading the team in scoring on any given night.
“I know for me, I don’t look at points,” Kelly said. “I don’t care about how much I score, because I already know I can depend on seven other people to score 10 points, so points aren’t an issue.”
After recovering from a knee injury, senior guard Buchanan has been a key contributor for CSAS, as has Rodriguez, whose outside shooting makes her another consistent contributor to the Lady Patriots’ balanced scoring. Their presence on the bench, as well as Featherstone’s in the paint, helps keep the starting guards from feeling pressure.
“I think that’s why we’re able to go so hard,” Anthony said, who averages 9.8 points and five steals per game. “We’re not scared of getting tired because we have players on the bench who can come in and do the same thing. That’s what you have to do to be a team. You have to be able to depend on each other.”
And the Lady Patriots’ ability to do so may be the factor that determines how far their season will go.
“They’re a good unit,” Martin said. “This whole team is doing things that Arts & Sciences girls’ basketball has never done before. It’s a great group. I hope we’re playing at least another two or three weeks.”
