Lady Spartans not resting on laurels of last year’s success

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Last winter marked a breakthrough for the Mountain Brook High School girls basketball program. The Lady Spartans reached the state final for the first time in school history, a milestone that reset expectations and proved that the climb under head coach Sara Price is real.

As the 2025-26 season gets underway, the Lady Spartans are no longer the up-and-coming story. Now they are the team trying to make sure the final four run was more than a one-hit wonder.

Price brought junior Maddie Walter, senior Clarkie Wilkinson and sophomore Avery Davis to the preseason Under the Lights Basketball Media Day — not because they’re the biggest scorers but because of how the team responds to them.

“The team and us coaches value them as leaders,” Price said. “What they’ve done this preseason and what they’ve done in summer has proven they can step up and be the face of the program.”

Walter, Wilkinson and Davis were at the center of last year’s run, and each is embracing what comes next. Walter called the experience “super exciting.” Wilkinson said feeling the community’s support only raised the group’s motivation.

Wilkinson steps into her senior season as the team’s vocal anchor, something both she and her teammates acknowledge. She said her goal is “just making sure we’re all under one voice, like all on the same page.” Price added that Wilkinson “does a lot of the little junk work that we ask of her,” the kind of behind-the-scenes impact that doesn’t show up in a box score.

The Lady Spartans return a strong core of seven from last year’s rotation and add five freshmen who Price believes can help right away. Junior Lindsey Dean is coming off a strong summer. Senior post player Annabelle Avery is expected to play a major role inside. Junior guard Kate Bakken, who provided key minutes off the bench a season ago, is poised for a larger role. Kate Garrett and Avery enter the year healthier after battling injuries in the preseason.

The freshman class features point guard Alexa Nelson, shooter Karma Kilgore, post presence Lily Henderson and versatile newcomers Merritt Estes and Olivia Craig.

“Our solid crew that is returning has enough experience to make a statement,” Price said. “And our incoming freshmen … are just going to step in and be great role players for us.”

Stylistically, the identity remains the same: fast, aggressive, defense-driven basketball.

“We still want to be fast,” Price said. “We want to be heavy on the defensive end and get a lot out of our defense.”

The players point to consistency as the key to another deep run.

“We had a lot of highs and lows,” Walter said of last season’s lessons.

Davis added that giving “100% energy in every game” will matter just as much as anything tactical.

After that taste of success last winter, the Lady Spartans are eager to make another postseason push this year.

“We’re going to work to get back there,” Wilkinson said.

In December, Mountain Brook will play the likes of Pelham, Homewood, Clay-Chalkville, Chelsea, Tuscaloosa Academy and Madison Academy before heading to the beach to round out the calendar year.

The Lady Spartans continue challenging themselves with non-area games against Bob Jones, Vestavia Hills, Calera, Pelham, Northridge, Clay-Chalkville and Vestavia Hills. They compete in an area with Huffman and Woodlawn.