After 12 first-round exits in the 52nd District Tournament and 14 straight losing years, the Middlesboro Lady Jackets are ready for a change in the 2023-2024 season and not interested in excuses.
“We’re not allowed to use the excuse that we’re young anymore,” said second-year coach Sally Adams said. “We’re still young age wise, but we were playing seventh graders in varsity last year, so they have some experience.”
Due to their lack of size, the Lady Jackets plan to pick up the pace this season, both on offense and defense.
“Our biggest goal this year is to work on our transition,” Adams said. “We’re a fast team, so I want to be able to get a lot of points out of transition. We want to cause turnovers. We struggled with turnovers last year, so we want to make smarter basketball decisions on the floor.”
The Lady Jackets had only one senior last season, so that experience with everyone else back should help in the 2024 campaign.
“I feel a lot better than last year. The girls are a year older and they’ve matured,” Adams said. “We’re still young in age, but they got a lot more playing time than their counterparts on other teams because we had seventh and eighth graders playing against juniors and seniors. I think we’ll be a lot better this year.”
Junior guard Keevi Betts (16.4 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game) has been the Lady Jackets’ best player the past couple of seasons and will be counted on to play a huge role against this year.
“She’s really quick and a good shooter,” Adams said. “Now that she’s a junior, she is taking on that leadership role a little better. She is definitely our top scorer.”
Morgan Martin (3.6, 3.1), a 5-5 freshman, returns at point guard.
“She will have to step up a lot more this year. She’s a great passer and great point guard,” Adams said. “I think she will play a bigger role this year.”
Trinity Partin, a 5-6 sophomore, also returns at guard.
“We want to work on her confidence, but it’s getting better,” Adams said. “She is a good passer and really helps support her teammates.”
Emily Lambert and Lily Partin, both 5-5 eighth graders, will also compete for a starting job in the backcourt.
“They got some varsity minutes last year. They have improved so much since last season,” Adams said. “They are super fast and feisty. That’s what he need on this team.”
Halaya Brown (5.0, 2.9), a 5-6 senior, will also play a leadership role for the Jackets as the team’s most experienced post player.
“Even when she’s struggling, Halaya is the backbone of our team. She supports her teammates really well, even when she’s not in the game,” Adams said. “She has worked a lot on our post moves. She is doing a better job of finishing around the basket.”
Millie Roberts, a 5-5 freshman, gives Middlesboro a 3-point threat off the bench.
“We just need to get her confidence up a little and she could see a lot of minutes,” Adams said.
Freshman forward Trinity Derossett and 5-5 junior Aieza Ahmad provides depth inside.
“Aieza is as tough as nails,” Adams said.
District rivals Bell County, Harlan County and Harlan have all won regional titles since the Lady Jackets won their last game in the regional tournament in 2011.
“We’re in a tough district, but we’re finding that these other teams are losing players every year and we’ll have the same ones,” Adams said. “I think we’ll quickly climb the ladder. The district is tough, but they’ll keep losing people and we’ll have the same set of girls for a while.”
DATE | OPPONENT | SITE | SCORE | STATS? | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 28, 23 | Lynn Camp | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Nov 30, 23 | Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA | away | 7:30 PM | ||||||
Dec 2, 23 | Shelby Valley | away | 12:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Dec 4, 23 | McCreary Central | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Dec 12, 23 | Wellspring Guardians (Richmond), (KY home school) | away | 7:30 PM | ||||||
Dec 15, 23 | Harlan | away | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Dec 20, 23 | Carroll County | at Gatlinburg, TN | 8:30 PM | Smoky Mountain Christmas Classic | ⇄ | ||||
Dec 21, 23 | TBA | at Gatlinburg-Pittman (Gatlinburg), TN | Smoky Mountain Winter Classic | ||||||
Dec 22, 23 | TBA | at Gatlinburg-Pittman (Gatlinburg), TN | Smoky Mountain Winter Classic | ||||||
Dec 27, 23 | Thomas Walker (Ewing), VA | home | 11:30 AM | Magic City Winter Classic | |||||
Dec 28, 23 | Whitley County | home | 11:30 AM | Magic City Winter Classic | ⇄ | ||||
Dec 29, 23 | Wolfe County | home | 1:15 PM | Magic City Winter Classic | ⇄ | ||||
Jan 4, 24 | Williamsburg | 6:00 PM | 13th Region All “A” Classic | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 12, 24 | Harlan County | away | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 16, 24 | Pineville | home | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 19, 24 | Bell County | away | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 23, 24 | Lynn Camp | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 26, 24 | Harlan County | home | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 27, 24 | Burgin | home | 12:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Jan 30, 24 | Barbourville | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 2, 24 | Harlan | home | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 3, 24 | Burgin | away | 12:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 5, 24 | Oneida Baptist Institute | away | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 6, 24 | Pineville | away | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 8, 24 | Bell County | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 13, 24 | Oneida Baptist Institute | home | 6:00 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 15, 24 | Williamsburg | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 19, 24 | Barbourville | home | 7:30 PM | ⇄ | |||||
Feb 23, 24 | Tri-Cities Christian (Blountville), TN | away | 6:30 PM |