The No. 1 girls basketball team in MS is fueled by young Coast talent. ‘We never give up.’
The Lady Hawks don’t operate in the world of flash.
You won’t find the seven-second offense in Hancock, nor are you in for a sprinting display of fastbreak mayhem on hardwood.
Instead, you’ll find five girls on the floor with quick vision and dead-eye shooting with a penchant for suffocating opponents with gritty match-up defense.
That’s the world the Lady Hawks operate in and it’s carried them to a 20-1 record, including 20 consecutive wins to open the season, and a No. 1 ranking in the state.
“All year we’ve been able to overcome any mistakes we’ve made by just out-toughing people and out-rebounding people and just making crucial shots,” Hancock coach Jamie Sisco told the Sun Herald.
It’s a simple recipe that has worked for a team that is still considered to be young. Point guard Brooklyn Cuevas, the team’s leading scorer, is a junior while Anslee James, Cuevas’ primary off-ball threat, is just a sophomore.
The two combine to provide around 25 points per game, which is just over half of the Hawks’ scoring.
James put her scoring on display in the Hawks’ first loss of the season against Gulfport, pouring in 11 points in the fourth quarter alone.
“Anslee (James) in my opinion is one of our best players,” Sisco said. “She’s one of the best sophomores on the Coast, if not in the state. I just think she just has to learn to play like one of the best players. Play like it and act like it and have the next-play mentality.”
James’ role next to Cuevas and star senior forward Jenna Garriga was a key reason why Hancock played 80 quarters of basketball before finally being saddled with a loss.
According to James, the Lady Hawks didn’t change much about their approach from last year’s 19-win team. Instead, both she and Sisco credit their season’s success to a head-down, team-first attitude.
An attitude that is hyper-focused on unselfish basketball and always searching for the open target.
“It’s always about the next pass,” James said. “If somebody has an open lane, we’ll drive in and get the defender in and we’ll kick that pass. We don’t care about points, any stats. We just care about the team.”
It’s a style of play that has helped Hancock handle many adverse situations throughout the year, though Sisco will tell you his girls can tend to be a little too unselfish at times.
But a roster that leans so heavily on each other has helped the Hawks win 15 games by double digits so far and amass a 5-0 record in games decided by less than 10 points, including a come-from-behind win over Harrison Central in early January.
Winning always comes with its own set of unique challenges, though, and Hancock is beginning to face them. The Lady Hawks have painted their own targets and are getting every opponent’s best shot.
That was evident on Tuesday when the Admirals led for the entire game in becoming Hancock’s first notch in the loss column.
The problems compounded when two of the team’s three seniors, including Garriga, went down with injuries during the contest.
“Twenty straight wins starts in practice, it starts in the weight room,” Sisco said. “It starts in the locker room with our team and the culture we have and the bond our team has. All of those things get tested when you lose. I told our team, ‘if we love winning, we need to learn how to lose to.’ Losing isn’t easy and they’re winners.”
The Lady Hawks are well-equipped to handle the heat. This year’s group is built similarly to last season’s and the starters have logged many a minute together on the floor.
Hancock’s sharp-shooting tendencies and high-IQ passing make them a threat in each game to put the scorekeeper to work.
“It’s really anybody’s shot,” Cuevas said of the Hawks’ depth. “We don’t really have a certain person shooting the shot.”
“We work as a team and everything comes together because we never give up,” according to James.
Hancock returns to action Friday with a big rematch against district foe Harrison Central. The Red Rebelettes are 15-6 and riding an uncharacteristic five-game losing streak.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be a battle, though, and the Lady Hawks know what lies ahead.
“We’ve always had a target on our backs, but now everybody knows about us since we’re No. 1 in the state,” James said. “We don’t let that get to us and we just take it game-by-game.”
It’s a tricky balance to strike for Sisco’s team, who is enjoying success at a high level and attempting to defend it with each passing week.
Hancock knows each week it is fighting to continue its moment.
“It feels pretty good, (basketball) has never been big here,” Cuevas said. “It’s actually pretty awesome to be No. 1.”
The Lady Hawks have three region games left on the schedule before do-or-die February puts Mississippi’s top 6A team to their final tests.
This story was originally published January 12, 2023 at 1:20 PM.
