New-look Lady Spartans ready for season

There was quite a bit of turnover on the Mountain Brook High School girls basketball roster in the offseason.

From last season’s squad, four players graduated and four chose not to play this season, leaving just four players from the 2018-19 Lady Spartans still on this winter’s roster.

“It’s going to be a whole different kind of squad than what we’ve had in the past,” third-year head coach John London said.

With so many new faces entering the fray this year, it may take an extended period of time for everything to start clicking for the Lady Spartans. London will lean on those four returnees — Ellie Dayhuff, Ann Vandevelde, Helen Dorough and Kate Jeffcoat — to lead the way.

London was pleased with what he saw over the summer, as those four got their first minutes with the group of freshmen and sophomores making their initial appearances with the varsity team.

“The kids played a lot of minutes this summer,” he said. “We got a chance to see them in action and we really got better as the summer went.”

The key word for Mountain Brook this season is going to be patience, London said. But he is still bullish on the potential of his team.

“I’m looking forward to our squad this year,” he said. “It’s all about the buy-in and all about them believing in their ability and their team. A lot of good things can happen.”

Dayhuff and Vandevelde are the team’s lone seniors and have been on the varsity team for multiple years already. Dayhuff is a dynamic athlete who can play any position and guard any position, while Vandevelde provided a solid scoring punch last year. Dorough and Jeffcoat are juniors that contributed last year as well.

The rest of the team is comprised of four sophomores and a freshman. Natalie Houser moved to Mountain Brook from Texas, and London said “she is going to help us” once she settles in. Lucy Redden can score in bunches, while Alden Johnson and Harriett Adams are also sophomores. London is also high on freshman Mary Jane Lassiter, the Lady Spartans’ only true post player.

Even with the new-look team and just nine varsity players, London said the style of play won’t change.

“We’re a transition team, that doesn’t change, no matter what we’ve got,” he said. “We’re not going to walk it down the floor, we’re just not going to do that. Even though we’ve got nine, we’re just going to have to be in the best shape we can and continue to transition.”

London said the first open look the team gets in its offense, a shot will go up. The Lady Spartans also primarily play man-to-man defense and will press full-court at times. That hasn’t changed, but the way they play defense will look a little different, as Mountain Brook will place more of an emphasis on protecting the paint and not allowing easy baskets.

“We may give up some 3s, but we’re trying not to give up an easy bucket,” London said. “There will be a lot of help. We’re going to pressure the basketball and every drive, we’ll help and recover.”

The coaching staff remains the same, but roles will shift slightly. Collier Ogilvie will be a floater this year, as she will help the middle school teams implement the same system that’s being run at the high school. Peggy Keebler will be a varsity assistant.

Kyle Ritter will return to coaching the JV team, a team composed of eight freshmen this season. Anna Francis Adams, Ellie Fooshee, Ellie Pitts, Mills Prater, Reagan Riley, Libby Sims, Emily Straughn and Kate Williamson will all get their chance to produce.

Mountain Brook’s varsity team will be challenged by its schedule once again this winter, a slate that London called “a dog.” Class 7A, Area 6 promises to remain brutal, with state runner-up Hewitt-Trussville, state contender Spain Park, and upstart Vestavia Hills allowing no comfortable games.

The Lady Spartans didn’t win an area game a season ago, but that doesn’t paint the full picture in London’s mind.

“We were close. Last year, out of our six area games, five of the six we led in the fourth quarter,” he said. “We were winning late, deep in the fourth quarter, we just couldn’t hang on.”

Mountain Brook will get a chance at all three of those squads again in January. In the season’s first two months, the Lady Spartans will be challenged by the likes of Mortimer Jordan, Oak Mountain, Thompson, Brewer, Wenonah, Gardendale, Ramsay, McAdory, Muscle Shoals and Pinson Valley. The Lady Spartans also host the Spartan Turkey Jam in late November.

Mountain Brook begins its season on Nov. 7, as it travels to Mortimer Jordan.