The Heritage Academy girls basketball team hopes to show what it can do now that it has all of its parts healthy and back together.
The Lady Patriots will have an opportunity to do that today and Thursday against some of the nation”s top teams when they play in the inaugural Magic City Showdown at H.W. Byers High School in Holly Springs.
Heritage Academy (8-7) will play Butler (Ohio) at 1 p.m. today and Ridgeway (Tenn.) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Nike-sponsored girls basketball event will feature multiple games both days involving teams from Mississippi and out-of-state teams. The squads will showcase some of the country”s top players, including Heritage Academy”s Rachel Hollivay, the No. 3 player in the Class of 2012, according to ESPN”s HoopGurlz.
Heritage Academy girls basketball coach Bruce Allsup said he received an invitation to the Nike event in the preseason. He feels the event will allow other players like Nelson, who might not b as known as Hollivay, to attract attention from college coaches who are likely to be in Holly Springs. He said his players already have had opportunities to showcase their skills to coaches who visit Columbus to watch Hollivay play.
“We”re playing pretty good,” Allsup said. “We”re starting to get a little continuity back. It is going to be a great experience to play some of the best teams in the nation to see how we stack up. I am really excited about the opportunity to play against some different teams from different states.”
Heritage Academy has won its last three games since welcoming Hollivay, a 6-foot-5 junior center who transferred from New Hope High, back to the lineup. Heritage Academy beat Washington School 57-40 behind 28 points from senior guard Christibeth Nelson and eight points from Bailey Rader. On Friday, the Lady Patriots defeated Clarksdale Lee 63-31 as Hollivay scored 20 and Nelson had 17. On Saturday in Senatobia, Heritage Academy beat Magnolia Heights 55-32. Nelson, the team”s leading scorer, led the way with 19 and Rader had 13.
Hollivay has missed time with injuries and illness this season. Allsup said Hollivay”s absence has affected the team”s timing. As a result, some of his players had a tendency to stand and watch Hollivay operate instead of doing what they normally do. The Lady Patriots use a lot of screens and staggers in a motion offense that allows shooters ike Nelson, Rader, and Stephanie Cruse to capitalize on open shots when opponents double-team Hollivay.
But Allsup said his players are understanding they need to keep moving if the Lady Patriots are going to be dangerous on offense.
“(Hollivay) is going to get double-teamed every time she touches the ball,” Allsup said. “We have girls who can shoot the ball and (that kind of defense) gives them a lot more open looks, so it is helping them.”
Allsup said he has seen a lot of box-and-one defenses but hasn”t faced any triangle-and-two schemes. A box-and-one focuses one defender on an opponent”s top player, while the other four players stand in a zone. The triangle-and-two takes two players and put them on the other team”s top scorers. The remaining players set up in a triangle in the paint.
Allsup said Nelson, who is known for her perimeter shooting, has seen the box-and-one several times this season.
“She has been playing really, really well,” Allsup said of Nelson. “She has been a great senior leader for us and has been stepping up and carrying our team, especially when Rachel was out. I expect her to do the same thing (now that Hollivay is back).”
Allsup also praised the efforts of Rader and Cruse. He said both complementary players have taken on leadership roles and have taken advantage of scoring chances when left open.
“Those two are so integral to our team,” Allsup said. “They play defense and they score at times. It just depends on what the situation is. They are two seniors who have been in the program since the seventh grade and they are showing great senior leadership and giving us a little grit for us to battle some of the teams we have to play in this league (in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools).”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
