Spartans girls looking to reload

Coming off a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2013-2014, the Mountain Brook girls basketball team is hoping to build on that this season.

But they’ll have to do that without Mary Katherine Pinson and Collier Ogilvie, key players and leaders over the past five seasons who have graduated. 

Pinson and Ogilvie averaged a combined 25 points a game for the Lady Spartans last season. And while Mountain Brook coach Mark Cornelius is aware of their contributions, he does not expect his team to lose too much ground. 

“I think we’ll be as good as we have been in the past,” Cornelius said. “I think we have a legit chance of getting to Birmingham and playing in the Final Four.”

Mountain Brook’s leading returning scorer is Sara Carr. Carr She expected to lead the team on the floor with the departures of Ogilvie and Pinson. Sara ended last season on a high note, scoring 32, 29 and 24 points in each of her last three games. Seniors Abigail Garrett and Neely Francis are also expected to be major contributors for the Lady Spartans.

“I think we know we all have to step up a bit,” Carr said in the wake of the departure of Ogilvie and Pinson. 

If the Spartans are to get to the BJCC this spring, the road will not be easy. They open their season on Nov. 11 at home against Oxford. Other tough tests for Mountain Brook include games against Shades Valley, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills. The Lady Spartans also have a tournament in Charleston, S.C., and a game against St. Pius in Atlanta. In that contest, Mountain Brook will face the top-ranked recruit in the country in Asia Durr. The point guard played for the U.S. National Team last year and currently holds college choices of Connecticut, Baylor, Notre Dame and Tennessee. 

“It’s a very good schedule,” Cornelius said of his team’s slate. 

Cornelius has an unprecedented background as a head coach. He was the head coach of the Spartans boys basketball team from 1998 to 2008 before leaving to be the head boys coach at Gardendale until 2011. He then decided to come back to Mountain Brook and coach the girls team. 

While that may seem like a major adjustment to some, Cornelius has not had to reform his coaching style.

“I’ve always thought things were relative as long as it is fundamentally sound, “ Cornelius said. “The speed of the game may be slower, but the Xs and Os have not changed at all.” 

Cornelius and Mountain Brook are confident in their ability to continue their success this year. 

“I think we’ll be as good as we have been in the past,” Cornelius said. 

“I think our team chemistry is really good,” Carr said.

Despite the loss of some key star power, the Lady Spartans have made it clear they are looking to reload, not rebuild, and recent history shows that is exactly what fans should expect.