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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook’s Sarah Passink (25) dribbles the ball during a game between Mountain Brook and Spain Park at Spain Park High School in November 2020. The Lady Jags defeated the Lady Spartans 56-24.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Mountain Brook’s Emily Straughn (22) dribbles the ball towards the goal in an area match against Briarwood at Spartan Arena on Jan. 12. The Spartans defeated the Lions 48-45.
The Mountain Brook High School girls basketball team could use its youth as an excuse this year and no one would bat an eye.
But the Lady Spartans could also use it to their advantage. For the second straight year, Sara Price’s team has no seniors. Three juniors, seven sophomores and two freshmen make up the varsity roster at the outset of the season.
While that is still an extremely young roster by normal standards, many of those players got a wealth of varsity experience last winter.
“We can say we’re still young — because we are — but we gained a year of experience,” Price said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what we’ve learned in a whole year.”
Mountain Brook won two Class 6A, Area 9 games last year and finished up with a 10-16 overall record. The Lady Spartans left the season with somewhat of a sour taste in their mouths and are eager to have a more competitive campaign this time around.
“It doesn’t happen overnight and at the end of last year, they started to see the light that we do have the pieces to make this work,” Price said. “Now, how do we put them together?”
Price said she is proud with how she saw her team work throughout the offseason. She is also encouraged by the progress shown during the summer games as well, as the Lady Spartans are looking to ramp up the way they practice and play.
“We’re looking to play faster this year,” she said, “which means we’ve looked into every possible aspect to get into our offense as quick as possible. We’re looking to play in your face defense from one end of the court to the other end of the court and have our defense transfer over to our offense.”
Emma Stearns is just a sophomore, but she has proven to be the team’s most consistent scorer. Her 3-point shot is lethal and is capable of putting up 20 points any game.
Emily Straughn is a versatile player who has improved her shot over the offseason. Sarah Passink is a “small but feisty” point guard for the Lady Spartans who comes off ball screens looking to attack. Libby Geisler is back as well and brings much of the same to the Mountain Brook offense.
Francie Morris and Bentley Brewer are two guards who bring an abundance of energy and effort, particularly on the defensive end.
“Having those two in the lineup is going to be really fun,” Price said.
Price commended forwards MJ Lassiter and Kate Cotton for responding well to the changes in the system Mountain Brook is running this season and said their roles will be important. Marrison Kearse, Margaret Pelekis and Mills Prater will also work their way into the rotation throughout the season.
“We really hang our hat on focusing on competing and working hard,” Price said. “We might not be the biggest or strongest team, but we are going to work and tough it out.”
Mountain Brook plays the likes of Helena, Hartselle and Oak Mountain, along with tournaments at home and in Gulf Shores, before heading into area play against Briarwood, Chelsea and Homewood.
