Harrison Central’s new girls basketball lineup is already on fire. ‘We have to work harder.’
If you’re looking for a lesson in sustained success, look no further than the office of Harrison Central girl’s basketball coach Nancy Ladner.
Old trophies that had overflown out of the school’s trophy case lie on the floor next to an occupied desk. Ladner is sorting through the stats from the Red Rebelettes fourth win in as many games to open the season.
The program she leads has a deep history of hanging banners and Ladner has practically been a regular in the Final Four in Jackson, though the last Gold Ball the team won was back in 2005.
Her Red Rebelettes are coming off another empty trip to The Big House and had to say goodbye to Hayleigh Breland and Laila Walker as they began their collegiate careers at Jackson State.
“We’re definitely in a building season,” Ladner told the Sun Herald. “We have a few returners, we actually have two returning starters. We’re just kind of young, experience wise.”
New and returning faces on the basketball team
The faces being relied upon are new, but Ladner says the fire still remains. It was evident in a 55-36 win over Presbyterian Christian on Tuesday, a game it was losing well into the second quarter.
The trademark spurtability that made HCHS so dangerous a year ago eventually manifested among Ladner’s newest group and the Red Rebelettes ran away with the win in the second half.
“The one thing I can say about this team is they get out here and they play hard every single game,” Ladner said. “That’s probably the hardest thing to get a team to do, is to play hard every time they come out and this team does.”
Every fire has its source. Last year it was the import of Breland, and this year it’s the return of a familiar face. Senior Dekeria Walls was unable to contribute to last year’s group due to sprains in both of her ankles.
This season, the forward is leading HCHS in scoring and serving as the glue for a team still trying to put all of its pieces together.
“We have to take stuff under our own control, like, now we have to win the game,” Walls said of replacing multiple star players. “We’re controlling the game because we’re all we got right now. At the beginning, we were a little rusty. We just knew we had to get it together.”
She’s not the only one back to lead the new-look roster. Junior Anaisha Carriere was a high-ceiling role player on last year’s team who flashed the potential to be a multi-level scorer who can work the glass.
Carriere was named to the Biloxi All Star Showcase roster after a season where she largely worked off of Breland and Walker.
The next step in her development is proving she can create her own opportunities. If Tuesday’s game is any indication, where she scored 19 points and hit a trio of three-pointers, Carriere is well on her way of accomplishing her goals.
“A player that can create their own shots,” Carriere said of what she hopes to be this season. “Last year, I had Hayleigh (Breland) and she created most of my shots for me, to be honest. I need to step up and be that player, to create my own shots.”
‘We have to work harder’
Beyond the floor, the 2021-22 team that played for the 6A state title had two qualities working for them: leadership and tremendous locker room chemistry.
Neither are quite where they need to be with this edition, according to Ladner, but Walls believes she can step up and be the leader the Red Rebelettes need.
“I can find it in myself,” Walls said. “I can become that.”
As for the chemistry, Carriere and Walls say the group just needs some more time together. “Our chemistry is a little rocky right now,” Carriere said.
“We definitely have to do a little more team bonding,” Walls said.
The girls are confident the pieces will fall in place. Harrison Central already has wins over Oak Grove and Hattiesburg with more opportunities on the way before district play.
“We think, because we’re Harrison Central, we’re going to win,” Walls said. “But now we have to work for it. We have to work harder.”
Ladner says the team is improving each game and she maintains high expectations for her team. “It doesn’t matter how we start the season, it matters who finishes the game and how we finish the season.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 10:35 AM.
